Somerville Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to I.D. Theft and Tax Fraud

Rosa Ivette Colon, 44, who ran a business called X-Press Taxes in Somerville, pleaded guilty Tuesday to identity theft and tax fraud, according to an announcement from the District of Massachusetts United States Attorney's office.

Colon, who's from Milford, prepared hundreds of false tax returns for her clients, the announcement says.

From 2004 to 2010, she would often prepare two versions of tax claims. One she would provide to her clients, the second, claiming a larger tax refund, she would file with the IRS, and she would pocket the difference, according to the announcement.

She also filed fraudulent claims for herself, using bogus W-2 forms claiming nonexistent wages and and withholdings, the announcement says.

The announcement says in three instances she unlawfully used the identities of cleints in her schemes: On two occasions she filed returns in clients' names without their knowledge; on one occasion she claimed a two-year-old belonging to one client as a dependent on another client's return, all while charging $1000 for the service.

In all, Colon defrauded the government of somewhere between $400,000 and $1 million in taxes, the announcement says.

She pleaded guilty to 32 counts of aggravated identity theft, filing false claims with the IRS and forging endorsements on US Treasury checks.

According to the plea agreement, prosecutors and Colon are recommending five years and one month in prison, the announcement says.

She is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 7.