An Augusta man has been sent to federal prison for running an off-the-books tax business that produced more than $1 million in bogus refunds, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Allen Brown, 41, received a sentence of 46 months or just under four years in prison plus three years of supervised release, said Margaret E. Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall sentenced Brown this week after he pleaded guilty in May to wire fraud conspiracy. Hall also ordered Brown to repay just over $1 million to the U.S. Treasury.
There is no parole in the federal system, so Brown will serve the entire 46 months behind bars.
Prosecutors said Brown and others ran a “ghost” tax preparation business at 1850 Gordon Highway Suite C. Brown owns the property, which is adjacent to a body shop. The group also operated out of two other locations, including a church and Brown’s residence.
Over the 2022-2023 tax season, Brown and associates filed at least 63 falsified tax returns. Brown fabricated income, invented deductions and inflated credits to maximize refunds, then collected a fee tied to the size of each refund, according to prosecutors.
Clients were offered two choices: a lower-risk “standard” filing that could yield several thousand dollars, or a high-stakes “I’m Not Scared” option that promised refunds as large as $30,000. These returns claimed fuel credits, business losses or medical expenses that did not exist. Clients were charged about 10% of the refund amount.
Court filings reveal at least 11 different individuals penned letters of support for Brown, in addition to Brown’s own statement expressing remorse and asking for home confinement.
Brown, a “minister,” said after leaving the military in 2013 he struggled with mental illness and felt like a nobody.
“When I started helping the clients, it boost(ed) my personality… I was not having those suicidal thoughts or depressed thoughts because it felt as if I was useful to someone,” he said.
The letters included a statement from his pastor at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Baptist Church and a teen member of his “Get it Together” mentorship group. Six family members and four church members vouched for his character and described his generosity and service to others.
Brown’s wife, Kim Brown was sentenced to 22 months in prison on similar charges in August.
Federal officials said the scheme not only cheated the government but also placed unsuspecting taxpayers at risk.
“People trust tax preparers to handle one of their most important financial obligations,” Heap said. “This defendant betrayed that trust and siphoned public money that should have gone to schools, infrastructure, and other services.”
IRS Criminal Investigation agents who unraveled the case warned ghost preparers are a recurring threat each tax season.
“They entice clients with promises of big refunds, but the only thing guaranteed is trouble,” said Demetrius Hardeman, special agent in charge of the agency’s Atlanta field office.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III.
