By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A LaPlace tax preparer has pleaded guilty to charges of filing false tax returns for customers of his business so he could pocket large refunds of more than $90,000.

James W. Nelson, 60, gave his plea Thursday in federal court in New Orleans. Nelson pleaded guilty to tax fraud, tax evasion and obstruction of justice charges stemming from a three-count indictment from January.

According to court documents, from 2007 through 2011 Nelson or employees under his direction at Nelson’s Computerized Tax Service prepared and filed false income tax returns for customers that contained false deductions that fraudulently claimed more than $90,000 in refunds the customers were not entitled to.

Nelson had been running the company with branches in LaPlace, Vacherie and Boutte since 1992 and had hundreds of clients annually, according to a factual basis filed on the case. Clients and employees of the business were prepared to testify to the wrongdoing if the case had gone to trial, according to the factual basis.

Additionally, Nelson was charged with neglecting to pay more than $21,000 in income tax on revenue he received in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

He also allegedly falsified documents to be used to support one of his customer’s fraudulent tax returns and false deduction amounts contained in the return.

The obstruction of justice charge, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, came after Nelson falsified and assisted in falsifying a worksheet to support the fraudulent business claims when he learned of the IRS investigation. The investigation had video and audio evidence of a 2010 encounter with his client, according to the factual basis.

Sentencing for Nelson is scheduled for May 10 in front of U.S. District Judge Lance Africk. Nelson faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment, as to each count. If he is convicted of the obstruction charge, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.