She prepared false tax returns. A judge ordered she pay $1.3 million to victims and go to prison

A Porterville woman who prepared tax returns with false deductions is going to prison, according to a ruling Monday by U.S. Judge Dale Drozd in Fresno.

Marie E. Sherrill, 57, operated Sherrill Financial Services and offered bookkeeping and tax preparation services in Porterville, according to a news release. Between 2011 and 2014, she apparently prepared tax returns with false deductions to maximize client tax refunds. That cost the IRS $255,900.

Judge Drozd ordered Sherill to four years in prison for wire and tax fraud.

Sherrill also was ordered to pay back the amount to the IRS as well as more than $1.3 million in restitution to the people she defrauded, the news release said.

Sherrill reportedly told the clients that their money would be put into “pooled investments” with money of other investors and that they would earn a high rate of return.

But the money was instead used to pay for Sherrill’s personal expenses and to pay earlier “investors” to make them believe their money was earning profits.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 7:49 PM with the headline "She prepared false tax returns. A judge ordered she pay $1.3 million to victims and go to prison."