NJ tax preparer is jailed in a major tax evasion scheme

💲 A NJ tax preparer is going to prison for fraud

💲 She helped clients file falsified tax returns

💲 The woman also didn't pay her own personal income taxes

NEWARK  — A Bergen County tax preparer was sentenced on Tuesday for tax evasion and for helping her clients file falsified tax returns, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba announced.

Joshlyn Raye, 49, of Elmwood Park, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court and was sentenced to three years in prison and must pay back more than $1 million in restitution.

According to court documents, between March 2010 and September 2023, Raye, the owner of JB Tax Services in Hackensack, knowingly and willfully evaded her own personal income taxes, filed 177 false tax returns on behalf of her clients, and filed three false quarterly employment tax returns on behalf of her tax return prep business.

Raye also fabricated and inflated figures, including expenses and itemized deductions.

In addition to her 36-month prison term, Raye must also serve three years of supervised release and pay $1.1 million in restitution, officials said.

Habba credited members of the IRS Criminal Investigation and members of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and the Office of Internal Affairs with the investigation.

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