Barrington tax preparer sentenced for making false returns

A federal judge has sentenced a Barrington resident to 16 months in prison for preparing and filing false tax returns for clients.

Gary Sandiego must also to serve one year of supervised release and pay more than $2.9 million in restitution to the IRS, under the sentence handed down Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Jorge L. Alonso.

Sandiego owned and operated G. Sandiego and Associates, a tax preparation business, federal authorities said. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he prepared and filed false returns for tax years 2014 to 2017, by either inflating or entirely fabricating expenses to claim residential energy credits and employment-related expense deductions.

As a result, the IRS lost approximately $4.5 million in tax revenue, according to the DOJ.

Sandiego pleaded guilty in April to preparing false income tax returns for clients, authorities said.