LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas valley developer and CPA who once boasted of having one of the largest CPA companies in Nevada is now facing prison time.
Lance K. Bradford, who founded LL Bradford & Company, pleaded guilty Tuesday to filing false tax returns for his role in a purported investment scheme to sell false tax deductions. His scheme caused a tax loss to the IRS of at least $8 million, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition to his CPA firm, Bradford also operated a real estate business that developed office buildings. He developed a property in Henderson near the Las Vegas Raiders practice facility. In addition to that business, he operated a real estate investment partnership entity.
Court documents reveal that Bradford began offering LLB’s wealthier clients an “investment opportunity” in which the clients would make a payment to has partnership entity and in exchange would receive a tax deduction worth five to seven times the money the client invested.
Bradford claimed phony deductions and filed false tax returns for his clients, documents said.
told the clients they were entitled to claim a large tax deduction based on losses derived from the partnership entity even though tax laws don’t allow that. Bradford did not report the investments on clients’ tax forms.
Bradford is scheduled to be sentenced in federal district court on Jan. 16, 2024, and faces a penalty of up to three years in prison. He also faces monetary penalties, restitution, and a period of supervised release.
