INDIANAPOLIS — A Muncie man has been sentenced to 24 months for income tax fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Indianapolis has reported.

Steven R. Kreps, 58, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to making or assisting in the making of false federal income tax returns, according to Timothy Morrison, United States attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

Kreps owns and operates Best Heating and Cooling in Muncie. An investigation by the Internal Revenue Service found that he prepared false W-2 forms for himself and four other employees in 2001, 2002 and 2003, that were then submitted to a hired tax preparer. The phoney W-2s reported employee wages and income tax withhholdings that were not actually paid and withheld.

The tax loss result was a reported $221,009.

James W. Warden, assistant U.S. attorney, said judge David F. Hamilton imposed a one-year supervised release following Kreps’ release. Kreps was fined $10,000 and ordered to cooperates with the IRS in the computation and payment of his tax liability.