SAN DIEGO–An El Cajon tax return preparer pleaded guilty Friday, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, to three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.
According to documents filed with the court, Marla Cunningham, 50, of San Diego owned and operated Cunningham’s Tax Service, a tax preparation business in El Cajon. Cunningham admitted that she prepared false individual income tax returns for her clients for tax years 2008 through 2010 that included false charitable deductions, unreimbursed employee expenses, education credits, medical and dental expenses and business expenses. She agreed that she caused a loss of more than $1.2 million.
Cunningham faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false return, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties at her sentencing scheduled for March 10.
