South Suburban Tax Preparer Guilty, Claimed $1.5M In Fraudulent Refunds: Authorities

LANSING, IL — A tax preparer from the south suburbs pleaded guilty Wednesday to aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns after claiming over $1.5 million in fraudulent refunds, according to authorities.

From 2017 to 2023, Vervia Watts, of Lansing, prepared and filed individual income tax returns, intentionally reporting false education expenses and business income to get refunds from the Internal Revenue Service that were greater than those her clients were entitled to receive, authorities said. Watts received at least $300 for each return she prepared, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Watts is set to be sentenced Feb. 14 and faces up to three years in prison as well as supervised release, restitution and monetary penalities, authorities said.