Tax preparer indicted for filing false tax returns causing thousands in fraudulent claims

HOUSTON - A Houston area woman has been taken into custody on charges that she willfully helped clients file false tax returns with the IRS, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.

Bobbie Zermeno aka Roberta Villarreal is set to make her initial appearance in Houston federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray at 2 p.m.

A federal grand jury returned the 14-count indictment March 25, which was unsealed upon her arrest.

Zermeno ran a tax preparation business in Houston from at least 2017 to 2022, according to the charges. At times during those years, she allegedly added false credits or deductions on tax returns to fraudulently lower her clients' overall tax liability.

The indictment alleges Zermeno utilized false Schedule C losses for businesses that did not even exist and false car mileage expenses to fraudulently inflate her clients' tax refunds. The false amounts claimed on these returns would, at times, exceed thousands of dollars, according to the charges.

Zermeno allegedly earned money from the scheme by charging her clients preparation fees of hundreds of dollars per return. The charges also allege she did not disclose some of these fees to her clients.

If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison for each count of aiding in the preparation and filing of false tax returns as well as potential fines of up to $250,000.

IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Lu and Brad Gray are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.