Another sentencing has been announced in connection to a group of Mississippi tax return preparers filing thousands of false returns.
According to court documents, Christopher Randell worked at Sunbelt Tax Services in Jackson and conspired with others to claim inflated tax refunds for clients by reporting false education credits, itemized deductions, and business profits or losses on their client’s returns. All in all, the illicit activity caused more than $3.5 million to be lost by the Internal Revenue Service.
Randell joins three others from Sunbelt in being sentenced. He was sentenced to 70 months behind bars and three years of supervised release. Last month, Adam Earnest was sentenced to 100 months, James Klish to 50 months, and John Wells to 15 months. Each was also given three years of supervised release.
The final member of the tax fraud crew, Jonathan Barefoot, is set to be sentenced later this year. All five men were convicted in November 2023.
