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A North Carolina tax return preparer was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for conspiring to defraud the IRS, prosecutors said.

Court documents and statements made in court showed that from 2012 through 2017, Andrea Pasley of Durham conspired with two others to prepare fraudulent tax returns, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina.

Returns prepared by the conspirators claimed false education credits or dependents or manipulated the clients’ income to qualify for larger earned income tax credits, the news release said. Under the scheme, some clients were charged up to $3,000 for preparing returns.

Based on an analysis of the falsely claimed education credits, the conspirators caused a tax loss of approximately $1.2 million, officials said.

The co-conspirators, Karen Jones and Audrey Odom, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the IRS and were sentenced earlier this year to 22 months and 15 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy.

In addition to prison, a judge ordered Pasley to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $1,264,493 in restitution to the U.S.

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