Ex-Advisor to Pay $314K for Preparing False Tax Returns

What You Need to Know

An ex-financial advisor pleaded guilty to 12 counts of preparing a false tax return as part of a plea agreement.
Each count of false preparation of an income tax return carries a maximum prison sentence of three years plus a $250,000 fine.
Sentencing has been scheduled for March 29, 2023.

A former financial advisor pleaded guilty to 12 counts of preparing a false tax return as part of a plea agreement, Philip R. Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, announced Friday.

Terrence LeGall, 69, of Linden, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a superseding indictment that charged him with 12 counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of a false tax return.

Each count of false preparation of an income tax return carries a maximum prison sentence of three years plus a $250,000 fine, according to the Justice Department. LeGall’s sentencing has been scheduled for March 29, 2023.

As part of his plea deal, LeGall agreed to pay the government restitution of $314,225, file amended returns and pay outstanding taxes his firm owed since 2012, according to the Justice Department.

Case Details

Between 2013 and 2017, LeGall, the sole operator of a financial advisory and tax preparation service in Union County, New Jersey, called LeGall Group, prepared several false tax returns for clients in which he included fake charitable contributions, unreimbursed business expenses and business losses he knew his clients didn’t actually incur, according to the indictment by the Justice Department filed April 14, 2021 and statements made in court.