Alameda tax preparer, 76, takes probation in fraud case, charges dismissed against her daughter

OAKLAND — An Alameda tax preparer was sentenced to one year of probation after pleading guilty to one of 36 charges she and her daughter faced, court records show.

Delphine Blakely, 76, pleaded guilty last June to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, a federal offense. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar handed down the sentence on Oct. 17. The same day, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges against her daughter, Veronica Forbes, court records show.

Blakely and Forbes were charged in 2020 with 36 counts, including conspiracy to defraud the IRS and filing false tax returns. The charging documents alleged that they falsified tax returns to save clients money in 2014 and 2015.

Blakely and Forbes worked at Blakely’s Income Tax & Bookkeeping Service, on Harbor Bay Parkway in the city of Alameda. They were investigated after an IRS computer program flagged their returns as suspicious.

In addition to the probation, Blakely was ordered to pay $20,798 in restitution, records show.

In a probation interview, Blakely said she was “deeply sorry and ashamed,” according to court records.

“I wanted to help people but know I made mistakes,” she told a probation officer.