Tax Preparer Sentenced For Filing False MD Income Tax Returns

GLEN BURNIE, MD — A 38-year-old Glen Burnie woman has been convicted of three counts of filing a false income tax return. Marsha Reed has been sentenced to five years in jail, all suspended, and five years supervised probation. As a condition of probation, Reed is prohibited from acting as a tax preparer.

Reed owned and operated M & E Tax Service in Glen Burnie. While not a registered tax preparer in Maryland, Reed prepared and filed state income tax returns, for a fee, on behalf of numerous Maryland residents. Many of the Maryland tax returns Reed filed on behalf of her clients included false information, which reduced their Maryland tax liabilities and improperly increased their state tax refunds by $24,727.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Wachs also ordered Reed to pay $24,727 in restitution to the Maryland Comptroller.