BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Louisiana tax preparer faces felony charges for what state officials say was a scheme that cost taxpayers an estimated $300,000.
The state Department of Revenue says in a news release that Melissa Cato of Gibsland was arrested on charges involving the altering of clients’ state income tax returns to claim losses for businesses that did not exist.
The department says charges were brought after auditors noticed a suspicious pattern with hundreds of returns Cato filed in the tax years 2012 through 2015. The department said it’s working to recover funds from Cato’s clients.
Online records show Cato was released Wednesday from the East Baton Rouge Parish jail. She did not respond to a telephoned request for comment Thursday.
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