An Indian-origin tax return preparer in the US was sentenced to two years imprisonment in a case of tax evasion and ordered to pay approximately USD 6,00,000 in restitution along with a fine of USD 95,000 to the exchequer.

Samir Patel, 56, a resident of Statesboro in Georgia state, was sentenced on December 19 after previously pleading guilty to tax evasion, said Jill E Steinberg, US Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

US District Court Chief Judge J Randal Hall also ordered Patel to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his two-year prison term, according to a statement from the US Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia.

There is no parole in the federal system, the statement said on Tuesday.

“Much of our nation’s operating revenues are dependent on the lawful participation of citizens in the income tax system, and those who evade their responsibilities place a greater burden on everyone else,” said Steinberg. “This sentence demonstrates the substantial consequences of attempting to cheat the system.” Patel was a tax return preparer at a national return preparation business when in 2015, he purchased a franchise of the business in Claxton, Georgia.

“As the owner, he hired, trained, and supervised tax preparers, and continued to prepare returns for customers. He, however, wilfully filed false income tax returns that omitted more than USD 1.28 million in income – including almost USD 1.18 million from S&W Amusements, a company that placed coin-operated amusement machines in convenience stores and gas stations – and evaded proper assessment of his personal taxes for years 2015, 2016, and 2017,” the statement said.

As part of his sentence, Patel is prohibited from preparing tax returns for others or for entities in which he has no interest during his term of supervised release, the statement added.

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