NEWS RELEASE
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Public Affairs Office
PO Box 125, Columbia, SC 29214
Contact: Danny Brazell (803) 898-5464
or Adrienne Fairwell (803) 898-5287

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2007

Revenue Department arrests Summerville tax preparer

South Carolina Department of Revenue investigators arrested a Summerville tax preparer Wednesday afternoon on charges of preparing fraudulent tax returns,

Walter Frank Bright, 65, was charged with 13 counts of preparing fraudulent state income tax returns from 2000 - 2003. Bright was released from the Berkeley County Detention Center Wednesday night on a $26,000 personal recognizance bond.

 Bright, who prepares tax returns from his home, is accused of obtaining excessive refunds for his clients by exaggerating their itemized deductions.  When contacted by the revenue department, Bright’s clients could not produce documentation supporting the deductions he claimed on their returns. Bright also did not sign any of the returns he prepared.

The department estimates Bright understated by more than $35,000 the total state taxes owed by his clients on the 13 fraudulent returns he prepared.

Bright is facing up to five years in prison on each of the charges and fines of up to $6,500 if convicted. The Department’s investigation into Bright’s tax preparation activities is ongoing.

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