A Birmingham man has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of preparing false tax returns for clients and filing fraudulent returns for himself in an alleged scheme involving tens of millions of dollars in tax refunds.
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Alabama indicted Michael Shine, 55, of Birmingham, on 30 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return and three counts of filing a false tax return.
According to the indictment, Shine owned a tax preparation business, Shine’s Professional Services, between 2021 and 2026. Prosecutors allege he prepared or helped prepare returns that falsely claimed clients had qualified geothermal heat pump property costs.
Those claims allegedly led to refunds the clients were not entitled to receive. Prosecutors also allege Shine continued and changed the scheme after the IRS searched his business.
Shine is…
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.