Luling tax preparer pleads guilty to filing false returns

A Luling tax preparer accused of filing false tax returns for her clients and for herself pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday.

Laura Diggs, 41, of Paulina, had been charged with one count of false statements on tax returns and one count of assisting in the preparation of false tax documents. She entered her plea before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Authorities say that Diggs prepared and filed false income tax returns from 2007 through 2009 at her business, Diggs Tax Service. The returns contained false Schedule A deductions and resulted in inflated refunds for her customers to which they were not entitled, according to Letten’s office.

In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the bill of information filed with the charges says that Diggs signed her own taxes that falsely under reported the business income she had received.

In total, Diggs allegedly failed to report $766,761 in gross income.

If convicted, Diggs faces a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, up to one year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment on each count.