Attorney General Frosh Announces Sentencing of Upper Marlboro for Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced that DiAnte Eugene Yawn 41, of Upper Marlboro, pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to one count of theft scheme greater than $100,000.  Judge Laura S. Ripken sentenced Yawn to 5 years incarceration, suspending all but 6 months, three years supervised probation upon release, and prohibited Yawn from acting as a tax payer while on probation.  Comptroller Peter Franchot has also placed a lien on his social security number to collect restitution.

From 2014 to 2016, Yawn, who was not a registered tax preparer in Maryland, prepared and filed state income tax returns, for a fee, on behalf of numerous Maryland residents.  Many of the Maryland tax returns Yawn filed on behalf of his clients included false information, which reduced their Maryland tax liabilities and improperly increased their state tax refunds collectively by approximately $100,000.  The returns contained false entries concerning business income and loss, dental and medical expenses, unreimbursed medical expenses, educational expenses, false reported tax preparation fees and a false W-2.