A federal jury found Paul Berkins Moise guilty April 30 of 14 counts of filing false returns on behalf of unknowing clients and three counts of filing false tax returns on behalf of himself.
Moise faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison for each count. The government also will seek restitution for the tax losses arising out of the fraud, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled Aug. 9.
According to testimony, evidence presented at trial and state records, Moise owned and operated Asset Management Group Inc. at 435 Clark Road in Jacksonville.
Between February 2013 and March 2017, Moise defrauded the IRS by filing returns for his clients in which he inflated deductions for state and local sales taxes, unreimbursed employee expenses and gifts to charity.
On one tax return, Moise claimed a sales tax deduction of $5,883 for a client who had a gross income of $43,476. For that client to claim a sales tax deduction that large, the client would have had to have made taxable purchases totaling $89,926, including the tax, more than twice the client’s claimed gross income, the government said.
Trial evidence also showed that Moise underreported income on tax returns he filed for himself for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015.
On his 2013 return, Moise reported $10,160 in income when he actually earned at least $83,848. On his 2014 return, Moise reported $2,695 in income when he earned $252,652. On his 2015 return, Moise reported $10,255 in income when he earned $234,936.
In addition, the state Attorney General’s Office investigated Moise in 2015 for violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act through a program Moise marketed as “foreclosure rescue.”
He entered into a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office that prohibits him from operating a mortgage refinancing or foreclosure rescue business in the state. The agreement also required him to reimburse his clients who paid advance fees for such services and pay a $30,000 penalty to the Attorney General’s Revolving Trust Account.
The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation investigated the federal case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold Corsmeier prosecuted it.