Peoria Tax Preparer Charged for Preparing Fraudulent Tax Returns

A Peoria tax preparer, Butoyi Mechack, has been charged by a federal grand jury with 17 counts of tax evasion.

According to the Department of Justice, the 38-year-old Mechack was charged with three counts of Making and Subscribing a False Tax Return and 14 counts of Willfully Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of False or Fraudulent Tax Returns.

According to the indictment, from 2019 to 2023, Mechack prepared and assisted in the preparation of numerous false and fraudulent tax returns on behalf of clients of his business, PTPS Tax Services, LLC. In helping prepare these returns, Mechack overstated and misrepresented tax credits, deductions, income, and expenses to fraudulently reduce the taxpayers’ tax liability and claim refund amounts to which they were not entitled.

Mechack also filed individual tax returns for himself for tax years 2021, 2022, and 2023, that substantially underreported his income.

Mechack’s arraignment was held on March 26, where he pleaded not guilty to charges and was released on conditions.

A conviction for Making and Subscribing a False Tax Return carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. A conviction for Willfully Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of False or Fraudulent Tax Returns carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.