An injunction can permanently prohibit a preparer from filing federal tax returns for others. We generally reserve this targeted action for preparers when earlier compliance efforts failed.
This process allows the Department of Justice to ask a federal court to shut down a return preparation business when we identify a history of a preparer not meeting due diligence requirements for the earned income tax credit, child tax credit, additional child tax credit, credit for other dependents, American opportunity tax credit or head of household filing status, including:
- Filing questionable claims for certain credits or head of household filing status
- Previous due diligence and other return preparer penalties
- Prior e-file warnings or suspensions
- A high percentage of clients whose claims were reversed or reduced by IRS
- Non-compliance related to preparer's personal or business tax returns
These preparers could also face criminal prosecution or additional penalties.
Cost to Government and Clients
With this process, we can stop preparers who file questionable returns that result in millions of dollars in harm to both the government and their clients. The preparers listed below have been permanently barred from preparing federal tax returns for others.
Due Diligence Injunction Results
The Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced the following injunctions against return preparers involving due diligence violations:
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A Florida federal court permanently barred Steven Doletzky, Michael Garno and Michael Bass, formerly doing business as Liberty Tax Service, from operating a tax return preparation business and preparing federal tax returns for others. Employees at stores owned by Doletzky, Garno and Bass prepared fraudulent claims for tax credits, including education credits and the earned income tax credit. (March 16, 2020)
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A federal court in Texas permanently barred Levett Navarro Camarena and her son, Chase Edward Camarena, from preparing federal tax returns for others, including under the name of the business Hispanic Services. The two routinely prepared federal tax returns for customers that contained false, improper, or inflated business expenses on Schedule C as well as reported Schedule C businesses that did not exist, increasing the earned income credits and causing an understatement of the client’s tax liability. (October 16, 2017)
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A Louisiana federal court permanently barred Angelina Adams and her tax preparation business, Angie’s Tax Service LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others. Their alleged schemes included fabricating Schedule Cs to secure bogus earned income tax credits and claiming unsupported education credits. (September 6, 2017)
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A federal court in New York permanently barred Elias Linares, Margae Zaldivar and their businesses, Taxes La Universal Corp., Universal Taxes & Staffing Corp. and Taxes La Universal II Corp., from preparing federal tax returns for others. Linares and Zaldivar routinely prepared federal tax returns for customers that contained false or erroneous claims for education tax credits and the earned income tax credit. (July 28, 2017)
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A Michigan federal court permanently barred Syed N. Ahmed and his businesses in Michigan and Illinois from preparing federal income tax returns. The defendants' employees prepared federal income tax returns containing false information in order to illegally generate higher tax refunds or higher refundable credits for their customers. (November 16, 2015)
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A Mississippi federal court permanently barred Nathaniel Kimble and his business, Kimble Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns for others. Kimble knowingly prepared federal income tax returns for customers that understated the customers’ tax liability and overstated refunds they claimed by inflating or fabricating earned income tax credits that his customers were not eligible to take. (January 22, 2015)
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A California federal court permanently barred Yonny Torres, doing business under the name Yonny's Income Tax, from preparing federal tax returns. Torres received the civil injunction for engaging in "dishonest conduct" when preparing federal income tax returns that contained false information that increased his clients' earned income credit (EIC) so their tax refunds would be fraudulently inflated. (April 23, 2013)
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A Michigan federal court permanently barred Crystal Ireland, doing business as Master Mind Preparation, from preparing federal tax returns that claim the earned income tax credit. Ireland failed to comply with due diligence requirements, fabricated businesses and reported fake business income on her customers’ tax returns in order to claim the maximum credit for them. The Internal Revenue Service penalized Ireland in 2010 for failing to comply with federal law due diligence requirements, yet a 2011 follow-up investigation revealed ongoing failures and fraudulent claims. The permanent injunction order also bars Ireland from preparing tax returns on which she fails to identify herself as the paid preparer or falsely identifies someone else as the paid preparer. (March 14, 2013)
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An Alabama federal court permanently barred Lakeisha Pearson, doing business as LGS Tax Service, PositiveEndeavors LLC and AGA Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns for others. Pearson routinely prepared federal tax returns she knew or should have known were not eligible to claim the earned income tax credit (EITC) and failed to meet her EITC due diligence requirements. (January 27, 2012).
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A Georgia federal court permanently barred Endia Delores Nipper, Jessie Mackie, and their business, TDNS Tax Service, from preparing federal income tax returns for others and from operating their tax preparation business. Nipper fabricated or inflated earned income tax credit claims on tax returns that she prepared for her customers and failed to comply with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) due diligence requirements for verifying whether her customers were eligible for the credit and in what amount. (May 27, 2011)
Find more information on additional forceful actions taken against preparers filing false claims
Additional Resources
- Consequences of Not Meeting Your Due Diligence Requirements
- Preparer Compliance - Focused and Tiered
Return to main Refundable Credit Preparer Compliance page