Meraux Woman Pleads Guilty to Aiding in Filing False Taxes

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that CYNTHIA BOWLEY, age 68, of Meraux, pled guilty today to aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns, a violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2).

According to court documents, in June 2017, BOWLEY assisted in preparing a false tax return for a taxpayer in which BOWLEY included false business losses and false charitable deductions. The resulting refund was over $18,000.00 in excess of the amount of the legitimate taxpayer refund.

BOWLEY faces a maximum sentence of three (3) years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to one (1) year of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey set her sentencing for February 28, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon S. Long is in charge of the prosecution.