Winston-Salem resident Shannon DeWayne Patterson has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent tax return, according to the Justice Department.

According to the release, between January and May 2015, Patterson co-owned multiple locations of tax preparation business Fast Tax in Winston-Salem, Kannapolis, and Salisbury.

While operating the businesses, he encouraged his employees to falsify information in order to guarantee a higher tax refund for his clients. Fast Tax’s malpractices resulted in fraudulent tax returns of over $60,000, the Justice Department reported.

Patterson also underreported his income on his own 2014 and 2015 tax returns, the release said.

Two of Patterson’s employees, as well as his co-owner Claudia Shivers, have also pleaded guilty to tax fraud and are awaiting sentencing.

Patterson had previously served as president of his local chapter of the NAACP, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. He is licensed to practice law in Georgia.

The release can be found here.