Naples tax preparer sentenced for filing false returns

A former Naples tax preparer caught in a nearly $600,000 audit has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for filing false tax returns.

U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek on July 10 sentenced Wilner Cenecharles, 61, to one year in federal prison on two counts of filing false tax returns and a concurrent one-year sentence on six counts of assisting in the preparation of false tax documents in 2019 and 2020. He also ordered Cenecharles to serve one year of supervised release, pay an $800 special assessment and reimburse the IRS $65,707, plus interest.

“I believe you do good work in the community … but this conduct warrants some type of punishment,” Dudek said, adding he could not allow him to serve probation but would reduce the sentence below guidelines and allow him to deal with some health and family issues before surrendering on Aug. 26.

Federal sentencing guidelines, which weighed the offense, Cenecharles' age and lack of criminal history, recommended 24 to 30 months in prison, a fine of $10,000 to $95,000 and an $800 special assessment. The statutory maximum for each count is three years in prison, a $250,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.

The judge waived the fines because of Cenecharles' financial situation.

Cenecharles operated Motivation Tax Financial Services at 550 11th St. N., the same location as Excelsior Barber Shop, a gathering place for many members of Naples' Haitian community in River Park. The longtime small business owner is known for providing free back-to-school haircuts and backpacks filled with school supplies.

He pleaded guilty in April, admitting he filed false tax returns for clients and pocketed part of their refunds. Cenecharles met clients in an office at the barbershop and prepared returns using his Preparer Tax Identification Number, according to the plea agreement. He attached false Schedules C and, in some cases, false education credits to generate fraudulent refunds.

He charged $200 to $600 to prepare returns and used a third-party refund transfer bank to direct part of clients' refunds to himself. The fraudulent amounts totaled $39,853 in 2019 and $25,854 in 2020.

The IRS Civil unit investigated the case, and a civil tax compliance officer audited several clients. IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Christopher Hall later interviewed clients, who said they neither provided false information nor authorized Cenecharles to include false items on their returns.

Cenecharles also received "thousands of dollars" in tax preparation fees that he failed to report, the plea agreement says, and did not accurately report his gross receipts on his 2019 and 2020 personal income tax returns.

During an emotional sentencing hearing in Fort Myers, Cenecharles' sister, attorney Hilda Cenecharles of Ave Maria, who owns the barbershop condominium, argued clients knew about and participated in the fraud.

"They individually came to him, they all talked about it and they all agreed to it," she said. "This is something they did together."

She said her brother immediately stopped preparing tax returns after the investigation and has not prepared any since, including his own.

"He understood the seriousness of the investigation," she said.

She denied he prepared his own taxes in 2021, when the government identified a tax deficiency of more than $14,000. She also argued the nearly $600,000 in audited tax returns should not be considered because they fell outside the statute of limitations. She noted the government had been reimbursed, said only 17 of the approximately 500 returns he prepared involved fraud and disputed describing the clients as victims.

Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesus Casas argued Cenecharles' prior conduct remained relevant and that case law allows judges to consider it without affecting the guideline calculation.

"This is ... a situation where a taxpayer initially benefits and then has to pay what they owe," Casas said, noting he did not object to a sentence at the low end of the guidelines.

In a sentencing memorandum seeking leniency, Hilda Cenecharles wrote that her brother should not be defined by his mistake but by his life as a devoted husband, father of eight, longtime small business owner and respected member of the Haitian community.

"For more than 40 years, he lived an otherwise law-abiding and productive life marked by hard work, devotion to his family, and service to others," she wrote, noting he emigrated to the U.S. at age 17 "in search of opportunity."

He immediately entered the workforce to support himself and his family, worked as a migrant farmworker alongside his parents in Immokalee, labored in restaurants and helped care for his younger siblings while building a life in this country.

"His story reflects perseverance, sacrifice and an unwavering commitment to providing for those who depended upon him," she wrote in the 36-page memorandum, which included 10 letters of support and newspaper articles detailing his community service.

Cenecharles apologized to the court, saying there was no excuse for his actions.

"I am deeply and sincerely sorry for what I have done," he said, adding his family and community rely on him. "I have learned a profound lesson. ... I promise the court I will live an honest, law-abiding life. ... I love my community and it breaks my heart that I have let my community down."

Friends and relatives tearfully urged the judge to show leniency, citing his community service. Hilda Cenecharles also said she is working with the IRS to establish a payment plan.