Edmonton tax preparer jailed again for tax fraud
EDMONTON, Dec. 14, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that Chander Mohan Sharma of Sherwood Park, Alberta was sentenced on December 13, 2018, to six years in jail. In addition to the court imposed jail term, Mr. Sharma will also have to pay restitution to his clients in the amount of $290,373. Mr. Sharma was found guilty on August 31, 2017, in the Provincial Court of Alberta, of defrauding the Government of Canada of income tax revenue in an amount over $5,000.
A complex investigation by the CRA revealed that Mr. Sharma filed false business losses and employment expenses on his clients' income tax returns totalling more than $2.9 million. Mr. Sharma misrepresented to his clients that he had, instead, gone back 10 years in their tax returns to obtain refunds that had been missed in the past. The false returns resulted in refunds and/or benefits of approximately $565,679. Mr. Sharma almost always charged his clients 50% of their refunds as payment for his services.
Eight of his clients, who testified against Mr. Sharma, submitted victim-impact statements to the court that described in detail how Mr. Sharma's actions negatively affected their lives.
In 2010, Mr. Sharma pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for theft over $5,000. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Sharma diverted over $110,000 that was supposed to go to the CRA on behalf of his clients to a bank account in his wife's name.
All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.
To maintain the fairness of our tax system, the CRA holds tax evaders, and those that facilitate tax evasion, accountable for their actions. Between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2018, the courts convicted 68 tax preparers for tax evasion, both personally and on behalf of clients. The courts sentenced the tax preparers to over $5.8 million in fines and 992 months (83 years) of jail time.
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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency
Randy Westerman, Manager of Communications, 780-495-4771
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