Former St. Louis Tax Preparer Convicted of 16 Counts Related to False Tax Returns

ST. LOUIS - Jurors on Wednesday convicted the former owner of a St. Louis tax preparation business of 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns.

Latasha L. Frison, 39, owned a tax preparation business in downtown St. Louis under various names including Taxed Rite. She lived in Cahokia at the time and now lives in Texas. Evidence and testimony at the trial, which started Monday, showed that Frison falsified information on more than a dozen tax returns of six taxpayers for tax years between 2020 and 2023, triggering hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds to which they were not entitled.

The investigation was triggered by red flags on hundreds of individual income tax returns that Frison prepared during that period, evidence showed. Returns prepared by Frison included an unusually high percentage of refunds, Schedule Cs (which are used to report an individual taxpayer's yearly profit or loss from operating a small business) , COVID-19 family and sick leave credits and federal fuel tax credits, evidence and testimony showed. Evidence showed that between 2021 and 2024, Frison filed more than 680 individual income tax returns, all but two of which claimed a refund. In one of those years, the average refund amount for tax returns filed by Frison exceeded $14,000, while the national and state averages in Missouri and Illinois were around $3,400.

Numerous Frison clients testified that, unbeknownst to them at the time, returns filed by her on their behalf contained false information, including false income figures for small businesses that didn't exist.

Frison is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30. Each count carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison. Frison also testified during the trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf said in court after the verdict was announced that the jury's verdict suggests that she committed perjury during that testimony and could face a longer penalty due to that. She was taken into custody after the hearing.

The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Jonathan Clow are prosecuting the case.