Georgia

Tax preparer faces prison time, fine for making fraudulent tax returns in Georgia

Published

1 year ago

December 4, 2024

Tax preparer faces prison time, fine for making fraudulent tax returns in Georgia

A woman from Georgia faces up to 30 years in prison after she recently pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to filing more than $3 million in fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her clients.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Macon, Ga. reported last week that 33-year-old Jessica Crawford pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns.

District Judge Tilman “Tripp” Self has scheduled sentencing for March, but beside the prison term she also faces a fine of $1 million.

Crawford operated Crawford Tax Services on Commerce Boulevard, a business area off Atlanta Highway in Athens.

The FBI reported it was investigating a multi-state unemployment benefit scheme during the pandemic when agents discovered text messages between Crawford and a client, who had created a fake business to fraudulently obtain benefits.

Crawford profited by receiving a percentage of the gains, according to the U.S. Attorney. The criminal investigations division of the IRS joined the investigation and an undercover agent met with Crawford to have tax returns filed, according to the report.

Crawford asked the agent, posing as a customer, if he did anything on the side and he responded no, but said he did mow his aunt’s grass sometimes.

The report says “Crawford said that was good enough.”

No income or expense amounts were provided, but she created a “Schedule C business” for landscaping on the customer’s federal income return and filed a fictitious loss of $19,373. On the return, federal agents also noted she filed an earned income tax credit, a child tax credit, and a business income deduction, which called for a fraudulent federal income tax return of $12,359.

As a result, the IRS reported it began a review of 1,261 tax returns filed by Crawford over the tax years of 2020 through 2021.

Those returns show Crawford fraudulently filed tax returns on behalf of clients that resulted in losses to the IRS of more than $3 million, according to the report.

“Jessica Crawford lied and took advantage of funds designed to help those who were truly in need during the pandemic,” FBI Agent Sean Burke of the Atlanta office said in a statement released with the report.

Demetrius Hardeman, the agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigations Office in Atlanta, released a statement that Crawford “was an unscrupulous return preparer who allowed greed to cloud her judgment and neglect her responsibilities to help clients prepared and file a true and correct tax return.”

Hardeman encouraged people to choose their tax preparer carefully before tax season begins in January.

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Georgia

Take a look: Gulfstream welcomes students to its Savannah headquarters

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1 hour ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

Take a look: Gulfstream welcomes students to its Savannah headquarters

Gulfstream recently announced a $5 million investment in Georgia education, welcoming students and leaders to its Savannah headquarters.

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Georgia

LSU Falls to Georgia in Series Finale

Published

13 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

ATHENS, Ga. – Designated hitter Daniel Jackson and centerfielder Rylan Lujo combined for nine RBI Sunday, leading fifth-ranked Georgia to a 12-1 win over LSU at Foley Field.

Georgia improved to 41-11 overall, 21-6 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 29-24 overall and 9-18 in conference play.

The Tigers return to action at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday when they play host to Florida in Game 1 of a three-game SEC series in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.

“Georgia won the moments in this series,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “They’re going to score, so you’ve got to capitalize against them when you have scoring opportunities on offense.”

Georgia starting pitcher Caden Aoki (8-0) was the winner, limiting LSU to one run on four hits in 5.0 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.

LSU right-hander Casan Evans (2-3), making his first appearance since April 17 versus Texas A&M, started the game Sunday and was charged with the loss, working 1.2 innings and allowing four runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

“I thought Casan’s stuff looked great, and that’s good for him from a health standpoint,” Johnson said. “He’s a guy that the more he pitches, the better he is, so there might have been a little bit of rust, but I thought he competed fine.”

Georgia struck for four runs in the bottom of the second inning in an outburst highlighted by Jackson’s two-out, two-run single and an RBI single by second baseman Ryan Black.

The Tigers narrowed the gap to 4-1 in the third when designated hitter Omar Serna Jr. delivered an RBI single.

Georgia extended its lead to 7-1 in the fourth as Jackson launched a two-run homer and centerfielder Lujo lined a run-scoring single.

Lujo unloaded a grand slam in the fifth, giving the Bulldogs an 11-1 advantage.

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Georgia

‘We’re champs’: How Georgia baseball soaked up first SEC title in 18 years

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

‘We’re champs’: How Georgia baseball soaked up first SEC title in 18 years

The Georgia baseball team had long since poured out of the Foley Field home dugout and the water bottles that were thrown on the field in jubilation had been cleaned up.

The Bulldogs celebration that carried into center field after a 13-8 victory on Saturday night over LSU on May 9 had ended and players had doused coach Wes Johnson with blue sports drink.

Now, some 20 minutes later, it was postgame photo time for the freshly minted 2026 SEC regular season champions.

They gathered in front of the spot on the right field wall where the previous seven seasons of Georgia SEC championships were listed, the last in 2008. Above them on the video board was a graphic that recognized this year’s team as SEC champions.

“Watching the program grow in such a shot amount of time, it’s awesome,” said pitcher Paul Farley, who has been with the Bulldogs for all three seasons with Johnson and got the win in relief Saturday. “We’ve got four SEC games left and to be able to hang that up there the SEC champs already it’s amazing.”

Farley was speaking figuratively because the 2026 numbers weren’t on the outfield fence just yet.

Fifth-ranked Georgia (40-11, 20-6 SEC) still has a chance to put a College World Series trip up there in left field for the first time since 2008 and in a best case scenario add another national championship year in right field with the 1990 season.

“SEC champs is great, but obviously we want to do bigger and better things,” Farley said.

LSU, the team that won it all last season, was still around having a postgame talk on the artificial turf field long after the game ended.

Johnson was with LSU in 2023 as pitching coach when it won another College World Series.

“It’s massive,” Johnson said of this latest championship. “Anytime you can win this league, man, it’s so hard. Then win it outright. It’s something you want to check off on your list of things you’ve ever accomplished. It’s 10 weekends of just meat house grinding.”

Johnson said he didn’t know that the dominoes had fallen Saturday to set up Georgia being able to clinch except that he saw that Texas lost at Tennessee as the result flashed on the scoreboard.

Texas A&M also lost twice at Ole Miss to set up the clinch for Georgia.

“I’m calling pitches, I’m locked in,” Johnson said.

He said assistant coach Will Coggin told him when the game ended that ‘We’re champs.’”

Many of the players knew.

“We had a few inside operatives, I’d say, tell us,” Farley said.

Shortstop Kolby Branch said he didn’t know “until the water bottles started flying.”

Branch said another Georgia team loaded with transfers grew closer in the fall and built relationships that have turned into wins this season.

Johnson said winning the regular season title in his third season as coach in the age of the transfer portal and NIL “means a lot.”

Johnson mentioned Farley, Branch and Tre Phelps being at Georgia for all three of his seasons.

“Seeing where we were in the first fall, we forget this used to be dirt and grass,” Johnson said standing on on turf field. “And we didn’t have the cool building and we only had one batting cage, all the stuff we’ve been able to do since we’ve been here. The other side is just understanding true belief and understanding what guys can do.”

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