Atlanta woman Cheryl Singleton accused of fraudulently claiming $20 million in tax refunds

Authorities say a tax preparer who fraudulently claimed more than $20 million in tax refunds has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to U.S. Attoey John Ho.

According to court documents, Cheryl Singleton, 29, owned and operated Advanced Tax Services in Atlanta. She is accused of using her tax business to prepare fraudulent tax retus by manipulating the numbers to maximize clients' refunds.

Singleton and her employees allegedly included fake dependents and fraudulent Schedule C businesses on their customer's tax retus to inflate their refunds, according to Ho.

Singleton and her employees are also accused of manipulating other people into providing their personal information, which allegedly led to fraudulent tax retus being filed in their names without their knowledge.

Officials say Singleton previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud in August 2016.