New Orleans Man Sentenced for False Statements on an Individual Tax Return

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA- United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that CHRISTOPHER COBURN ("COBURN"), age 51, of New Orleans, was sentenced for making false statements on an individual tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).

According to court documents, COBURN owned and operated a tax preparation business called 1040 Tax Express in New Orleans. For tax years 2016 through 2018, COBURN willfully under-reported his income from this tax preparation business by approximately $104,156 on his individual tax returns. This underreporting caused a loss of approximately $29,781 to the Internal Revenue Service.

U.S. District Judge Darrell James Papillion sentenced COBURN to five years of probation and ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service. Judge Papillon also ordered COBURN to pay $29,781.00 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. COBURN also agreed to a permanent injunction prohibiting him from preparing, assisting in, directing, or supervising the preparation or filing of federal tax returns on behalf of others.

The U.S. Attorney's Office would like to acknowledge the work of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations on this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.