St. Louis County Tax Preparer Indicted, Accused of Falsifying Tax Returns

ST. LOUIS – A tax preparer from St. Louis County has been indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of falsifying 11 tax returns from 2018 to 2021 by adding a total of $252,577 in fraudulent deductions.

Elisa Y. Brown, 57, was indicted February 22 on 11 counts of assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. The indictment says she falsely represented that the taxpayers were entitled to deductions for items including medical and dental expenses, gifts and unreimbursed employee expenses.

Each charge carries a penalty of up to three years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

“This indictment serves as a reminder to choose a return preparer carefully, said IRS – Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas Murdock of the St. Louis Field Office.  “While dishonest return preparers use a number of ways to cheat the government, it’s still the taxpayer’s responsibility to know what is on their return.”

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy is prosecuting the case.