On October 1, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, and Executive Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Harry T. Chavis, Jr., announced that JOSEPH CLAY pled guilty to an Information charging him with one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax return. The charge arises from CLAY’s orchestration of a nearly $6 million tax fraud scheme, from 2019 to 2024, involving the filing of thousands of individual income tax returns that included false information designed to fraudulently reduce taxpayers’ federal and state tax burdens. As part of today’s guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, CLAY agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) more than $5 million in restitution.
“Tax preparers are entrusted with helping their clients follow the law—not systematically falsifying returns to manufacture deductions and refunds,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “Joseph Clay turned tax preparation into a years-long fraud scheme, filing thousands of false returns that deprived federal and state governments of nearly $6 million in tax revenue. Even a guilty plea to state tax fraud did not stop him: as he admitted today, Clay continued filing fraudulent returns for his customers.”
“This case is a stark reminder that tax fraud is not a victimless crime,” said IRS-CI Executive Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr. “By orchestrating a scheme that manipulated thousands of tax returns and deprived both the IRS and New York state of millions in revenue, Joseph Clay abused the trust placed in tax professionals and harmed honest taxpayers across our community. Today’s guilty plea sends a clear message: we will aggressively pursue those who exploit the tax system for personal gain. Our commitment to protecting taxpayers and upholding the integrity of our nation’s tax laws remains unwavering.”
According to the Information and statements made in public filings and court proceedings:
From 2019 through 2024, covering tax years 2018 through 2023, CLAY—who operated tax preparation businesses in Yonkers going by the names Premier Tax and Professional Services LLC and Prime Tax & Professional Services LLC—filed over 3,500 tax returns with the IRS and New York state authorities. During this period, CLAY repeatedly and routinely submitted false information in customers’ tax returns, including, among other things, inflated and fictitious itemized tax deductions and fraudulent claims for residential energy credits, to reduce his customers’ tax liability and increase his customers’ tax refunds. In total, CLAY’s conduct deprived the IRS of more than $5 million in tax revenue, and deprived New York state tax authorities of close to $900,000.
CLAY, 52, of Lodi, New Jersey, pled guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax return, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. McDonald thanked IRS-CI for their outstanding work in this case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmi Schickler is in charge of the prosecution.