NY Tax Preparer Gets Prison For Fraud
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Manhattan tax preparer has been sentenced to over two years in prison for using the stolen identities of Puerto Rico residents to submit false federal returns.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the sentence was imposed Wednesday on Kelvin Crucey.
He's a former senior executive at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. It's one of nine empowerment zones established by the Clinton Administration in 1994 to revitalize distressed communities.
He also owned a tax preparation business. That's where the scheme occurred.
The prosecutor said Crucey and co-conspirators cashed about $250,000 in tax refunds that didn't belong to them.
Besides the prison time, he's required to pay restitution.
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