CAMP HILL, Pa. — Brian Wade is facing dozens of charges related to his accounting business in Cumberland County.
Back in January, FOX43 was there when federal, state and local authorities left Wade's business in Camp Hill with boxes of evidence. His past customers were elated to see the scene unfold.
"I said my smile was so big it wrapped above my head and tied itself in a bow because I was so happy to see him being taken down, so to speak," said Lou Ann Barry of Mechanicsburg. She currently has a civil case against Wade.
"He was going to do my books to make tax time easier and that was a big failure," said Barry.
She ended up with letters and notices from the IRS. In total, she says about $12,000 was missing or never filed correctly for her business. Barry said, "When you would approach him about it, he immediately became defensive, he was volatile." She continued, "You feel like a victim, and you are a victim, but Nobody should be ashamed for being a victim because you didn't do the bad deeds, that's on him."
Dozens of people also say they're Wade's victims. Jessica McCoy from Carlisle believes she was on the first. She said, "I just found complete incompetence in my case."
McCoy said, "I realized he was not reporting my payroll taxes on time because I got notification from the IRS and when I questioned him, he got very combative."
McCoy also sued Wade. She estimates the whole ordeal cost her about $15,000. Wade paid $4,500 dollars as part of a settlement.
The start of a criminal investigation
Wade is facing 72 criminal charges in Cumberland County including deceptive business practices, fraud, and identity theft. He's accused of failing to do the work he'd been paid for by multiple clients. Police say he also applied for several credit cards in his wife's name without her consent, ran up debts on them, and did not pay them off.
FOX43 Finds Out reached out to Brian Wade several times to get his side of the story, but we never heard back. He is active on Facebook though still looking for clients.
Wade also cites that he won Harrisburg Magazine's Readers' Choice for Tax Preparation for 2023. When we checked Harrisburg Magazine's website to confirm that, his name was gone. We reached out to the magazine about the discrepancy and we were told "We are currently reviewing the situation and under the advice of our attorney unable to say anything more."
Warning others about who they hire
McCoy said, "It's important that this story gets out now because it's tax season, people will be filing, he's soliciting them for work, and it's not going to be good if he does your taxes."
Wade is scheduled for a preliminary hearing for his charges in May.
Since we are still in tax season, if you do hire someone to do your personal income or business filings you need to know the difference between a CPA and an accountant. Anyone with a bachelor's degree in accounting can say they're an accountant, but a CPA needs a license with a state. FOX43 Finds Out searched records and Brian Wade is not listed as a CPA with the state.
It's important to note that no matter who you hire to do your taxes, you are still ultimately responsible for any misfiling or issues with the IRS.
If you have a story you want Jackie De Tore to look into, FOX43 wants to find out. Send her a message on Facebook or send an email to FOX43FindsOut@FOX43.com. You can also join the FOX43 Finds Out Facebook Page.