Marla Lynn Cunningham, a tax return preparer, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for preparing fake tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
She owned and operated Cunningham’s Tax Service in El Cajon. From 2010 to 2012, Cunningham prepared fake returns for her clients that reported phony business losses, charitable contributions, and medical, dental, education and unreimbursed employee expenses. She caused a tax loss of more than $1.2 million.
She was arrested in 2015 on 36 counts and pled guilty to three of those counts in December 2016.
After three years in prison, Cunningham is ordered to serve one year of supervised release and will pay $91,867 in restitution to the IRS.
