North Panhandle Times

A Marion County tax preparer has been convicted on 26 counts of filing false tax returns, as announced by United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. Jack Lee Oliver, aged 56, from Rivesville, West Virginia, was found guilty by a jury for his involvement in preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns. Oliver owns Insurance Depot, an insurance sales and tax return preparation business located in Fairmont.

The trial revealed that Oliver prepared tax returns for clients claiming business losses for businesses that did not exist, without the clients' knowledge. He also inflated expenses for clients who had businesses to create false business losses, again without their awareness. These actions resulted in the clients receiving undeserved tax refunds. Additionally, evidence showed that Oliver claimed the foster son of one of his clients on his own tax returns, leading to thousands of dollars in refundable credits he was not entitled to receive.

"Jack Oliver stole from American taxpayers when he falsified returns to benefit himself and others," stated U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. "We will continue to crack down on anyone who attempts to game the system by falsely claiming losses, expenses, or dependents in order to obtain a bigger tax refund."

It is expected that evidence presented at Oliver’s sentencing will demonstrate he caused a tax loss exceeding $500,000. He faces up to three years in federal prison for each count against him. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod Douglas and Eleanor Hurney prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The trial began last Tuesday and concluded with this morning's verdict.

The investigation was conducted by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), with Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presiding over the case.