Pensacola Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Multi-Year Tax Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

A Pensacola woman has been sentenced to federal prison after a prolonged scheme involving the preparation of fraudulent tax returns and the misuse of another individual’s identity to continue filing returns while under federal investigation.

Khristine N. Harper, 42, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to twenty counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and one count of identity theft. The sentence follows a multi-year investigation into systematic tax fraud that impacted both taxpayers and the integrity of the federal tax system.

According to court records, Harper operated as a tax return preparer between 2018 and 2024, during which time she routinely falsified client tax filings. Investigators determined that Harper listed fabricated deductions, credits, and financial figures that were never provided or authorized by her clients, resulting in improperly inflated refunds and fraudulent submissions to the Internal Revenue Service.

In July 2023, Harper became aware that IRS Criminal Investigation had opened an active investigation into her practices. Rather than cease operations, she attempted to evade detection by changing the name of her tax preparation business from Kings Tax Service to Echelon Tax. She further escalated the scheme by fraudulently obtaining a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) in another individual’s name without authorization and using it to file 2023 tax returns for her clients.

Federal prosecutors emphasized that the misconduct continued even after Harper knew she was under scrutiny, a factor that weighed heavily in sentencing considerations.

In addition to her prison sentence, Harper was ordered to pay:

• $284,490 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service
• $132,809.74 in statutorily mandated prosecution costs
• $2,100 in special monetary assessments

She will also serve two years of supervised release following her incarceration.

Federal authorities underscored that tax preparer fraud represents a direct threat to public trust and places compliant taxpayers at a disadvantage. Officials noted that each fraudulent return constitutes a separate federal offense, carrying cumulative consequences when conducted at scale.

The case was jointly investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecution was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, and sentencing was imposed in federal court following Harper’s guilty plea.

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