The tax preparer for a Live Oak building contractor convicted of tax fraud has been fined $2,500 for her involvement in the case, court records show. Barbara E. Coulthurst, of Mayo, could have faced up to six months in federal prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

Coulthurst, 64, pleaded guilty in December 2008 as an accessory after the fact to the filing of false federal tax returns. Coulthurst admitted to knowingly submitting the false returns of a Live Oak building contractor for 2000 and 2001.

She was sentenced March 5 in a Jacksonville federal court.