04-07-04 -- McMillon, Winford -- Indictment -- News Release

Trenton Tax Preparer Indicted for Fabricating and Inflating Itemized Deductions

TRENTON - A Trenton tax preparer was arrested today on charges of aiding in the preparation of false individual tax returns, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Winford McMillon, 55, of Trenton, is charged in a 39-count Indictment, which was unsealed with his arrest this morning by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the Indictment, from March 1998 through March 2001, McMillon held himself out as a "tax consultant" and prepared U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns for local taxpayers for a fee. The Indictment alleges that while preparing the tax returns, McMillon fabricated and inflated itemized deductions, including medical and dental expenses, charitable contributions, and personal property taxes on the Schedule A section of the Tax Returns. The fabrication of the taxpayers' deductions resulted in taxpayer refunds ranging from $941 to $11,148. The Indictment alleges 39 incidents whereby false deductions totaled over $777,000, which resulted in tax refund overpayments totaling $189,120.

The defendant was arraigned on the charges before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler, who set bail of a $50,000 personal recognizance bond.

Each count of the Indictment carries a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. Under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Judge Chesler, upon conviction, would determine the actual sentence based on a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offense and the defendant's criminal history, if any, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Rudy.

Despite Indictment, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

Christie credited Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation section, under the direction of Patricia J. Haynes, with investigating the case against McMillon.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudy of the Criminal Division in Trenton.

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Defense Attorney: Brian Reilly, Esq. Federal Public Defenders Office, Trenton