Ex-Union Co. Financial Advisor Sentenced For Prepping False Tax Return

LINDEN, NJ - A former financial advisor and tax preparer based out of Union County was sentenced Wednesday to nearly two years in prison for preparing a false tax return, federal authorities said.

Terrence LeGall, 69, of Linden, previously pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2022, before U.S. District Court Judge John M. Vazquez in Newark federal court, to an indictment charging him with 12 counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of a false tax return.

Between 2013 and 2017, LeGall, then the sole operator of LeGall Group Inc., prepared several false tax returns for his clients, federal officials said. The false returns included fake charitable contributions, unreimbursed business expenses and business losses, resulting in more than $300,000 in losses to the U.S. Treasury.

LeGall also served as a “ghost preparer,” meaning that he did not identify himself anywhere on the returns as a preparer and filed the returns in a manner that made it look like the returns had been filed by the taxpayers.

In addition to the prison term, LeGall faces one year of supervised release and was fined $12,000.