Harnett County Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty To State Tax Charges

RALEIGH – A Dunn tax preparer pleaded guilty Monday in Wake County Superior Court to tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

James R. Wynn, II, 39, of 1107 N. Railroad Ave., Dunn, pleaded guilty on January 13, 2014 to 14 counts of Aiding or Assisting in the Preparation of Fraudulent North Carolina Individual Income Tax Returns.

Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan sentenced Wynn to a 13-month minimum, 25-month maximum prison term. The sentence was suspended and Wynn was placed on supervised probation for 60 months. For the first six months, Wynn will be on electronic house arrest. Wynn was ordered to pay restitution of $16,656, perform 100 hours of community service and timely file and pay all of his future personal individual income taxes. He was further ordered not to engage in the preparation of tax returns of others for the duration of his probation.

An investigation by a special agent with the North Carolina Department of Revenue found that Wynn, owner and operator of One Stop Financial Center, Dunn, NC, aided or assisted in the preparation of 14 fraudulent North Carolina Individual Income Tax Returns for tax years 2010 and 2011. Wynn overstated business expenses on the returns which resulted in the issuance of larger refunds.

The charges against Wynn resulted from an investigation by a special agent with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Section in Raleigh.