SIMI VALLEY : IRS Agents Arrest Income Tax Preparer

A Panorama City man was arraigned in U. S. District Court on Thursday on charges of preparing false federal income tax returns for 12 members of a Simi Valley softball team.

Danny Charles Gray, 36, allegedly made up to $220,000 worth of deductions on the 1991 returns, which resulted in a $38,800 understatement of taxes owed to the government.

The 12 softball players, described by an IRS agent as victims of Gray, were not charged and have already filed amended returns and repaid the money, an agent said.

Gray, who described himself as a financial consultant, was recommended to the team by one of the players who had heard about Gray’s knack “of getting money back,” the agent said. Gray’s fictional deductions included business mileage and contributions, the agent said, adding that the players were “mostly kids out of high school.”

The scam was exposed by one of the victims’ fathers, who saw the bogus return, the agent said.

Gray fled a San Fernando Valley restaurant after agents tried to arrest him Wednesday, but he was apprehended in the parking lot, the agent said. His bond was set at $20,000. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 12 years in prison and/or $250,000 in fines.