At year-end, most of us get a W-2 showing our wages earned. Most of us don’t purchase a W-2. There’s a good reason for that: Our employers complete it and send it to us (with a copy to the IRS). Of course, most of us properly pay out taxes. Most of us aren’t Bozos.
However, there are those of us who come up with “better” ideas. Take Jerlene McKnight of Salters, South Carolina. She came up with the idea of providing phony W-2s for stupid taxpayers (for a price, of course). The taxpayers then used these to prepare returns based on the phony numbers…and wouldn’t you know, almost all of them got refunds! What a surprise! Not so surprising is that many of these same taxpayers went to a tax ‘professional,’ Vincenia Brockington, who has been convicted of tax fraud.
Hint: Phony W-2s don’t work. Sooner or later the IRS will wonder why they (a) haven’t received the company’s W-3 (the report that shows everyone’s W-2s) or (b) why the payroll tax deposits shown haven’t been made.
In any case, it’s good night for Ms. McKnight. She pleaded guilty to tax fraud last week.