JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Mississippi man was sentenced on Friday to 70 months in prison for conspiring to prepare and file false tax returns for clients in Jackson and for preparing false returns.

According to court documents, Christopher Randell worked at Sunbelt Tax Services and conspired with others to claim inflated tax refunds for clients by reporting false education credits, itemized deductions and business profits or losses on their clients’ tax returns.

Over the years, prosecutors said Randell and his co-conspirators prepared thousands of fraudulent returns, causing more than $3.5 million in tax loss to the IRS. A jury convicted Randell and his co-conspirators in November 2023.

In addition to his prison sentence, Randell was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and to pay restitution to the United States, in an amount to be determined later by the court.