08-20779 - United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit Tax Fraud Appeal Opinion

Sep 19, 2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviews the convictions of Karey Statin, challenging the sufficiency of evidence and alleged sentencing errors. The court affirms a judgment convicting Statin arising from his tax preparation business Quick-Tax, including conduct involving false income claims on Schedule C and overstated or fabricated deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040. The opinion addresses standards for reviewing denials of acquittal motions and evaluates arguments grounded in reliance on Form 8453 declarations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

Procedural Background

Indictment and Charges

Trial and Verdict

Sentencing

Issues on Appeal

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Standard of Review

Reliance on Tax Form 8453

Case: 08-20779 Document: 00511024362 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/10/2010 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No . 08-20779 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D February 10, 2010 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk Plaintiff-Appellee v . KAREY BERNARD STATIN , Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No . 4:07-CR-141-1 Before REAVLEY , CLEMENT , and SOUTHWICK , Circuit Judges . * PER CURIAM: Karey Statin was indicted for crimes arising out of his tax preparation business . On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and claims sentencing errors . We AFFIRM the conviction and the sentence. BACKGROUND Karey Statin was the sole proprietor of a tax preparation business called Quick-Tax in Houston , Texas . On April 12, 2007, Statin was indicted on fifteen counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of false tax returns between 2000 * Pursuant to 5TH CIR . R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR . R. 47.5.4. Case: 08-20779 Document: 00511024362 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/10/2010 No . 08-20779 and 2002 in violation of 26 U. S. C. § 7206(2) . Counts One through Eight charged Statin with including false income claims on Schedule C of Form 1040 so that the taxpayers identified in these counts appeared to earn more income than they actually earned in the tax year in question . By including false income claims on a taxpayer’s Schedule C , the taxpayer received more earned income credit (“EIC”) , and potentially a larger refund, than was legitimate . Counts Nine through Fifteen charged Statin with overstating or fabricating deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040 so that the taxpayers identified in these counts received unjustified itemized deductions . Statin was tried by a jury in January 2008. His counsel moved for a judgment of acquittal on all counts at the end of the government’s case-in-chief, and then again at the close of trial. These motions were denied. On January 11, 2008 , the jury returned guilty verdicts on all fifteen counts. Following the conviction , Statin submitted separate motions for a judgment of acquittal and for a new trial based on the government’s failure to present sufficient evidence to sustain the convictions on each of the fifteen counts . These motions were also denied. On November 4, 2008, Statin was sentenced to terms of thirty-six months on Counts One through Eight, to be served concurrently, and fifteen months on Counts Nine through Fifteen, to be served concurrently with each other but consecutively to the sentences for Counts One through Eight. Statin alleges the district court erred in denying his motions for acquittal because the evidence was insufficient to sustain convictions on any of the fifteen counts . He also contests the district court’s calculation of his sentence range and the reasonableness of the sentence issued. Case: 08-20779 Document: 00511024362 Page: 3 Date Filed: 02/10/2010 No . 08-20779 DISCUSSION A. Sufficiency of the Evidence A motion for judgment of acquittal calls on the district court to make a legal conclusion that the evidence is insufficient; the denial of the motion is therefore reviewed on appeal as are other legal issues , namely , de novo . United States v. Clayton , 506 F.3d 405 , 412 (5th Cir. 2007) . Guilt has been sufficiently shown when, “viewing the evidence and the inferences that may be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational jury could have found the essential elements of the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Clark , 577 F. 3d 273 , 284 (5th Cir . 2009)(citations omitted) . “It is not necessary that the evidence exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or be wholly inconsistent with every concl

FAQs

What was at issue in Karey Statin’s appeal?

Statin challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions and also argued sentencing errors.

How did the charges relate to the tax forms in the case?

Counts One through Eight involved false income claims on taxpayers’ Schedule C of Form 1040, while Counts Nine through Fifteen involved overstating or fabricating deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040.

What does the opinion say about motions for judgment of acquittal?

A judgment of acquittal involves a legal conclusion that evidence is insufficient; the denial is reviewed de novo as other legal issues.

Sep 19, 2026

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