PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Pensacola woman has pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns and identity theft charges involving more than $103,000 in tax loss, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
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Khristine N. Harper, 42, pled guilty to 20 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns and one count of identity theft.
According to court documents, Ms Harper prepared and filed fraudulent income tax returns for clients between 2018 and 2024. She listed false amounts for deductions, credits, and other items that clients had not provided.
After learning in July 2023 that the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation was reviewing her conduct, Ms Harper changed the name of her tax preparation business from Kings Tax Service to Echelon Tax. She also obtained a Preparer Tax Identification Number in another person’s name without permission and used it to file her clients’ 2023 tax returns.
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U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin announced the guilty plea.
“I applaud the excellent investigative work by our federal law enforcement partners to identify and dismantle this offender’s sophisticated fraud scheme,” said Mr Heekin.
“Defrauding the federal government victimizes every taxpaying citizen, and my office will aggressively pursue criminal prosecutions of fraudsters to ensure they are held accountable to the full extent of the law for their crimes.”
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For the 20 returns listed in the indictment, Ms Harper reportedly caused more than $103,000 in loss to the Internal Revenue Service. Sentencing is scheduled for December 17, 2025, at 1 p.m. before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers at the federal courthouse in Pensacola.
The case was investigated jointly by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes is prosecuting the case.
