The Justice Department filed a complaint yesterday seeking to permanently bar tax preparer Tax Master of BVL Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others.
The complaint, filed in a federal court in Orlando, alleges that the individuals operating the tax business prepare and file false federal tax returns through Tax Master that understate their customers’ tax liabilities by reporting false or exaggerated itemized deductions and business expenses.
According to the complaint, the IRS interviewed Tax Master customers who said they were not self-employed and did not incur the business expenses reported on their income tax returns; they did not make the charitable donations or incur the medical expenses reflected on their tax returns; and they did not give them any reason to believe that the items reported on their returns were legitimate.
The complaint alleges that, by repeatedly understating their customers’ tax liabilities, the preparers at Tax Master have caused the United States to lose substantial tax revenue.
In addition to a permanent injunction, the complaint asks the court to order the defendants to turn over the ill-gotten tax preparation fees they earned while preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns.