Portland Tax Preparer Sentenced To 6 Months In Prison For False Returns

PORTLAND, Maine — Ashraf Eldeknawey, a Portland tax return preparer who last August pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns, was sentenced Monday to six months in prison and one year of supervised release. U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby also ordered Eldeknawey, 46, to pay $97,191 in restitution to the IRS. According to court documents and information presented in court, Eldeknawey operated a tax return preparation business located inside the Ahram Halal Market on Forest Avenue in Portland from 2015 to 2018. He prepared fraudulent tax returns for clients that reported self-employment income they did not earn.