PITTSBURGH – A local woman has been sentenced in federal court to 27 months of imprisonment for aiding and assisting in the preparation or filing of a false income tax return and criminal contempt and false statement to the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Kathy Billotte, 60, of Frenchville, Clearfield County. She also received one year of supervised release for her convictions.
According to information presented to the court, Billotte was a tax return preparer and operated a tax return preparation business known as “K B Tax Services” in Clearfield County.
She falsified annual income tax returns prepared for at least 15 individuals during the period of 2013 through 2017, ensuring the individuals received tax refunds to which they were not entitled.
Specifically related to the offense to which she pleaded guilty, Billotte prepared and filed on Feb. 26, 2016, a 2015 federal income tax return for a taxpayer, identified as “T.G.”, on which she falsely and fraudulently reported that he/she operated a private business and incurred business expenses, as well as inflated unreimbursed business expenses and charitable donations.
The total tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service for all 15 clients was $193,102.15, including interest, and the court ordered Billotte to repay the Internal Revenue Service in full.
While the criminal tax case was pending, Billotte, who had a 1999 felony conviction for fraudulently obtaining U.S. Postal Money Orders, falsified court documents allowing her to serve on a federal grand jury. During her service, it was discovered that she was improperly sharing information that had come before the grand jury.
Prior to imposing sentence, Schwab stated that Billotte’s conduct was particularly egregious in that she methodically and repeatedly defeated the tax system and then, after being federally charged, she continued to engage in unrelated criminal conduct, during which she shared secret grand jury information that could have brought harm to both grand jury witnesses and law enforcement officers.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn J. Bloch and Cindy K. Chung prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting U.S. Attorney Kaufman commended the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigations leading to the successful prosecution of Billotte.