Gloucester County, NJ, Man Heads to Prison For Filing False Tax Returns

A South Jersey man is headed to prison for filing false tax returns.

On Wednesday in Camden federal court, 43-year-old Christian L. Whittaker of Williamstown was sentenced to four years behind bars after previously pleading guilty to an indictment charging him with making false claims against the IRS.

According to federal authorities, Whittaker knowingly and willfully prepared, electronically signed, and filed with the IRS false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns (1040s) for the tax years 2016 to 2019.

Whittaker claimed that a business paid him significant wages and incurred substantial losses, when in fact the business wasn't real.

Based on the false claims, the IRS paid more than $300,000 in refunds to Whittaker. More than $80,000 was paid by the IRS and garnished to pay debts that Whittaker had previously incurred.

In addition to the prison term, Whittaker was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to payback $390,682.