A tax preparer from Waxahachie has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay over $6.7 million in restitution to the IRS. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton.
Bachary Rushid McGruder, the 45-year-old owner of M&M Enterprises and Consulting, TX, was indicted in November 2021 and pleaded guilty in November 2023 to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The sentence was handed down on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.
Mr. McGruder admitted to knowingly preparing over 1,000 fraudulent tax returns for his clients between 2015 and 2018. These returns included fictitious Schedule A itemized deductions such as charitable donations, unreimbursed employee expenses, and home mortgage interest. Additionally, false Schedule C business losses and Residential Energy Credits (REC) were also included.
The fraudulent information was added to clients’ tax returns without their knowledge, with Mr. McGruder having them sign forms justifying the deductions and credits without explaining the contents. He profited from this scheme by charging unusually high fees, deducting them from individual tax refunds, with some clients being charged as much as $2,800 for return preparation.
The IRS – Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation, which resulted in a tax loss of $6.73 million.
