East Falls Tax Preparer Convicted of Falsifying Dozens of Clients' Returns To Get Refunds
By Robin Culverwell
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia man has been convicted of 63 counts of tax fraud. And it's costing him his livelihood and he faces years behind bars.
David Nixon, 50, owned and operated "Economy Tax Services," in East Falls. Federal investigators targeted him after reviewing percentages of tax preparers' clients getting refunds versus those who owed.
In an interview with an undercover agent, he boasted of a 99.9-percent refund rate.
"I don't think anything David Nixon did was highly unusual," assistant US attorney Anita Eve told KYW Newsradio today. "I think he was trying to build his clientele by making people happy -- by getting them refunds."
Eve says that investigators looked at returns filed in 2007, 2008, and 2009. More than 25 clients testified that Nixon changed information on their returns -- everything from their business expenses to their marital status.
He faces three to four years in prison.