New Orleans man pleads guilty to filing false tax returns

A New Orleans man has pleaded guilty to charges he filed false tax returns for people without their knowledge and had tax refunds deposited into bank accounts he controlled.

Thirty-two-year-old Darvell Hall faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison following his guilty pleas Wednesday to wire fraud and making false claims to a federal agency.

Prosecutors say Hall prepared and filed bogus tax returns for roughly two dozen people between March 2009 and March 2011. Many of them were either children or people who were incarcerated.

His sentencing by U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance is set for Jan. 9.

Prosecutors say Hall has agreed to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.