Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Sharhonda Law, 39, of Haughton, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 20 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for tax fraud. Law was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $123,455.
Sharhonda Law was a federal income tax return preparer who owned and operated Law’s Tax Service in Shreveport and was the sole tax return preparer for the company. According to information presented in court, Law prepared and filed a client’s 2019 tax return with the IRS. The return she prepared included a false and fraudulent Schedule F, “Profit or Loss from Farming,” which falsely claimed that the client had farming income and incurred farming expenses, resulting in a net farming loss. As a result of Law’s actions, the tax refund falsely showed the client was due a refund when, in fact, the client actually owed taxes for that tax year.
An investigation into the falsely filed tax return showed that Law’s client did not have a farm, nor did they tell Law they owned or operated a farm. In fact, the client never provided Law with any of the farming-related income or expenses that she input on the Schedule F. Law pleaded guilty on November 20, 2024, to one count of aiding and assisting in making and subscribing a false return.
Law made similar misrepresentations on six other tax returns prepared for clients. In addition, she falsified her own income on two of her personal tax returns, and she failed to file tax returns for other years. The total criminal tax loss in this case was determined to be $123,455.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robin S. McCoy.