The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced that a tax preparer who works in the Bronx will serve jail time for filing false corporate tax returns.

Joseph Barrios, Jr., 50, a Mahwah, NJ resident who owns JB Tax, Inc., also known as All Options Services, Inc., at 371 E 138^th St., pled guilty in Bronx County Supreme Court to Aiding and Assisting the Preparation of False Returns on behalf of his clients, a felony.

From 2009 to 2013, the Tax Department audited more than 5,000 returns filed by Barrios, and stopped or recovered more than $6 million in fraudulent refunds claimed on those returns.

Under the terms of the plea bargain, Barrios agreed to a sentence of six month incarceration at Riker’s Island and five years probation, during which he must refrain from preparing any tax returns.  Additionally, he will pay a $20,000 fine.

The Barrios case was investigated by the Tax Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and prosecuted by the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office.

“I commend District Attorney Robert Johnson for prosecuting this case,” said Commissioner Thomas H. Mattox.  “Seventy percent of New Yorkers hire tax preparers who they trust to accurately and honestly prepare their returns.   Preparers who betray that trust not only break the law, but jeopardize their clients’ finances.  We will continue to work with all levels of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute these individuals.”

Report tax evasion or fraud
If you suspect that a tax preparer is engaging in unethical or illegal practices, you can report it to the Department by calling 518-457-0578.

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