Campbellsport Man Appears On Federal Tax Fraud Charge

6/27/17 – A trial date has been added to the calendar in federal court for a Campbellsport man facing tax fraud charges. Robert Spoerl, owner of J & R Tax Service in Kewaskum, is charged with ten counts of Assisting in the Filing of False Federal Income Tax Returns, 16 counts of Theft of Money from the United States by Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds, and two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft. Federal prosecutors say the 69-year-old used clients’ personal information to file false returns with the IRS.  To conceal his fraud, Spoerl allegedly provided his clients, who were unaware of the fraud, with an accurate copy of their returns, which Spoerl did not file. The returns Spoerl did file fraudulently inflated the refunds claimed by the taxpayers by adding false claims for tax credits, deductions, and dependents.  Spoerl then allegedly diverted the fraudulent portion of the refund to himself and paid the actual portion of the refund to his clients.   The indictment alleges that during the years 2011- 2015, Spoerl filed more than 100 false tax returns collecting more than $150,000.  If convicted on all counts, Spoerl faces a minimum of two years in prison and up to three years in prison on each of the False Tax Return charges, and up to ten years in prison on each of the Theft of Government Property charges. The court trial is slated to begin August 3rd.