Opinion ID: 4843446
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Present Criminal Charge

Text: In August 2018, a grand jury charged Jeune with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, 18 U.S.C. § 286, four counts of filing false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims, 18 U.S.C. § 287, and five counts of aiding or assisting in the filing of false tax returns, 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2). The charges stemmed from tax returns prepared and filed between January 19, 2011, and October 3, 2016. Jeune entered a plea of not guilty and stood trial. The government noted that Jeune could not obtain an EFIN because of her status as a convicted tax-fraud felon. So, the government asserted, Jeune ran Investment Equity and Jacob Jeune, P.A., as her tax-preparation businesses, employed her inner circle of family and friends, acquired EFINs in some of their names, and continued to prepare and transmit falsified tax returns to the IRS using those EFINs. A recurring pattern emerged in the present tax-fraud scheme: W-2s were falsified using the same fake businesses, tax deductions were inflated, and individual 13 USCA11 Case: 19-13018 Date Filed: 08/23/2021 Page: 14 of 65 tax returns claimed substantial business expenses for vehicles and medical and dental expenses. Tax refunds funneled into Investment Equity bank accounts that Jeune controlled, and sometimes only a portion or none of the refund went to the taxpayer. Although Jeune admitted that tax fraud occurred at Investment Equity, she insisted that other employees had filed the falsified tax returns and controlled the bank accounts with IRS refund money. After a five-day presentation of evidence and before jury deliberations, Jeune moved for acquittal, which the district court granted in part. It dismissed five of the ten charges listed in the indictment. The jury found Jeune guilty of the remaining five charges—one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286 (Count 1); one count of filing false tax returns, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287 (Count 4); and three counts of assisting and advising in the preparation of false tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2) (Counts 6, 8, and 10). Following sentencing and restitution hearings, the district court sentenced Jeune to a total of 180 months’ imprisonment and ordered her to pay $398,021 in restitution to the IRS. Jeune now appeals her convictions, sentence, and restitution amount.