Note: View the complaint here.
The Justice Department filed a complaint in a federal court in Chicago today seeking to permanently bar tax preparer Stacy Thomas, of Orland Park, Illinois, individually and doing business as Rapid Tax Refunds LLC, Rapid Tax Refund Profs LLC, and Rapid Refunds Income Tax Service Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others.
The complaint alleges that Thomas and her businesses prepare and file false federal tax returns that understate her customers’ tax liabilities by claiming false residential energy credits, false Schedule C business expenses, and false charitable deductions. The government further alleges in the complaint that customers interviewed by the IRS confirmed that they never told Thomas they incurred the residential energy or business expenses or made the charitable contributions she reported on their income tax returns, and that Thomas claimed those items without their knowledge or consent.
According to the complaint, the IRS estimates that by repeatedly understating their customers’ tax liabilities, Thomas and her businesses have caused the United States to lose nearly $13 million in tax revenue.
The Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams, and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS warns taxpayers to avoid “ghost preparers” and lists other improper acts that tax preparers engage in to take advantage of their unsuspecting customers.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.