Hackensack Tax Preparer Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Tax Evasion and Filing 177 False Returns

Joshlyn Raye, owner of JB Tax Services, also ordered to pay over $1.1 million in restitution for a years-long scheme involving fraudulent filings for clients and herself.

A Bergen County tax preparer has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for tax evasion and assisting in the preparation of nearly 180 fraudulent tax returns, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court.

Joshlyn Raye, 49, of Elmwood Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to three felony counts: aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return, tax evasion, and filing a false declaration under penalty of perjury for a quarterly employment tax return. In addition to the prison sentence, Raye was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,109,214.10 in restitution.

According to court documents and proceedings, Raye operated JB Tax Services, a Hackensack-based tax return preparation business, from March 2010 through September 2023. During that time, she filed 177 false tax returns on behalf of clients by submitting inflated or fabricated income deductions and expenses in order to secure larger tax refunds.

Raye also evaded paying her own personal income taxes during three of those years, and filed three falsified quarterly employment tax returns for her business, underreporting obligations owed to the Internal Revenue Service.

The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance’s Office of Internal Affairs. U.S. Attorney Habba credited their efforts, led respectively by Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan and Director Brian Hickey.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)/Narcotics Unit in Newark.