An Augusta father and daughter who ran a tax preparation business opted to plea guilty to federal charges rather than stand trial this week in U.S. District Court.
Ezra Hatcher Sr., 68, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday, April 25, while his daughter Sherry Hatcher, 42, pleaded guilty last week. Both were named in a 49-count indictment in October 2020 that accused them of defrauding the United States of $167,086.
The Hatchers ran HIT Accounting and Tax Services. According to the indictment against them, they filed tax returns on behalf of 15 people with false information about expenses, income and earned tax credits. The filings occurred from 2014 through 2018.
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In 1998, Ezra Hatcher Sr. was prosecuted on 44 counts of false claims, according to federal court records. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve 14 months in prison and to served an additional three years on supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $81,077 in restitution.
Sherry Hatcher was indicted in Richmond County Superior Court in 2009 on multiple counts of theft, but the case was dismissed by the prosecutor in October 2019, four years after a civil case filed by the alleged victim, Augusta Women’s Center, was closed for lack of activity after it was pending for more than five years.
The Hatchers will remain free on bond. Sentencing hearings will be set after pre-sentencing reports are prepared.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
