A Charlotte tax preparer was arrested Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Willie James Crite Jr., 40, of 8603 Verbena Court, Harrisburg, was charged on May 29, 2019 with one count of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses, two counts of Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax, and one count of Willful Failure to File Return, Supply Information, or Pay Tax.
Arrest warrants allege that Crite unlawfully obtained or attempted to obtain a refund of approximately $18,989.00 from the North Carolina Department of Revenue by filing a fraudulent 2014 North Carolina Individual Income Tax Return. Arrest warrants also allege that Crite filed a false and fraudulent 2015 and 2016 North Carolina Individual Income Tax Return with the North Carolina Department of Revenue understating his taxable income, all in an attempt to evade or defeat the North Carolina Individual Income Tax. An additional arrest warrant alleges that Crite willfully failed to file a North Carolina S-Corporation Income Tax Return for the tax year 2013 for his business, Swift Tax, Inc., located at 529 West Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte.
Crite appeared before a Wake County magistrate and was placed under a $50,000.00 bond. A first appearance is scheduled for May 30, 2019 in Wake County District Court in Raleigh.
The charges against Crite resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Section in Raleigh.