Ex-Advisor to Pay $314K for Preparing False Tax Returns

A former financial advisor pleaded guilty to 12 counts of preparing a false tax return as part of a plea agreement, Philip R. Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, announced Friday.

Terrence LeGall, 69, of Linden, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a superseding indictment that charged him with 12 counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of a false tax return.

Each count of false preparation of an income tax return carries a maximum prison sentence of three years plus a $250,000 fine, according to the Justice Department. LeGall’s sentencing has been scheduled for March 29, 2023.

As part of his plea deal, LeGall agreed to pay the government restitution of $314,225, file amended returns and pay outstanding taxes his firm owed since 2012, according to the Justice Department.

Case Details

Between 2013 and 2017, LeGall, the sole operator of a financial advisory and tax preparation service in Union County, New Jersey, called LeGall Group, prepared several false tax returns for clients in which he included fake charitable contributions, unreimbursed business expenses and business losses he knew his clients didn’t actually incur, according to the indictment by the Justice Department filed April 14, 2021 and statements made in court.

His actions resulted in a reduction in the clients’ tax liability and a fraudulent refund from the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Justice Department, which said LeGall acted as a “ghost preparer.”

Although LeGall prepared income tax returns for his clients, he didn’t identify himself anywhere on the returns as a preparer and filed the returns in a way that made it look like the returns had been filed by the taxpayers.

LeGall’s actions caused losses of more than $300,000 to the U.S. Treasury, according to the Justice Department.

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