Belleville income tax service owner faces federal charge of lying on her own returns

The owner of a Belleville tax preparation business was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges she failed to report income on her own income tax returns.

Dormeshia A. Haire, 36, owner of a self-named tax service at 56 S. 56th Street in Belleville, faces three felony counts of making false statements in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

For employment, Haire collected fees from her clients for filing tax returns and selling identity theft monitoring services at her business in St. Clair County, but didn’t report all of her receipts in 2019, 2020 or 2021, charges allege.

“Tax preparers must work ethically and abide by federal law, or face consequences from the IRS for intentionally making false statements, committing fraud and ultimately causing the Government to lose significant tax dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.

According to court documents, Haire, who resides in St. Charles, Missouri, didn’t report any of more than $43,000 in gross receipts in 2019. In 2020, Haire reported $23,834, but the government alleges she billed clients an estimated $192,200 that year.

And in 2021, the complaint alleges, Haire reported gross receipts of $50,323, but the government estimated she billed customers $323,396.

False statement convictions are punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and fines up to $100,000 per count.

IRS Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Howard is prosecuting the case.