Big Win in Tyler Court of Appeals for Wrongly Accused Bookkeeper

Client was a bookkeeper who prepared free tax returns for her boss’s relatives using TurboTax. One of the poorly educated relatives felt the refund was too small and filed a theft charge with a poorly trained Cherokee County Deputy, who failed to speak to a CPA to understand tax returns. The Cherokee County Attorney charged bookkeeper with filing a false U.S. tax return, long the sole jurisdiction of federal courts. Client was convicted and appealed. Tyler Court of Appeals properly held that theft statue does not cover U.S. tax returns and ordered acquittal. Client is relieved. Special credit to appellate genius Greg Smith of Ramey & Flock who edited briefs.