Tax Preparer ‘The Magician’ Pleads Guilty to Defrauding IRS of $145 Million

This is ‘one of the largest ever tax frauds’ committed by a preparer, said an official.

The Department of Justice seal is seen on a lectern ahead of a press conference in Washington on Nov. 28, 2018. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

A New York tax preparer, nicknamed The Magician, pleaded guilty to duping the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with fake returns filed on behalf of his clients for several years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Rafael Alvarez, 61, was charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and stealing government funds and one count of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, according to a Dec. 17 statement from the agency.