COURT BARS HOUSTON AREA WOMAN FROM PREPARING TAX RETURNS

Government Suit Alleges Revenue Losses from Fraudulent Claims May Have Exceeded $5 Million

WASHINGTON – A federal court in Galveston, Texas, has permanently barred Linda McMiller of Pearland, Texas, from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. McMiller, who worked as an unenrolled tax return preparer through Broom Consultants in Houston, consented to the civil injunction order.

According to the government’s complaint, McMiller prepared federal income tax returns for customers claiming false deductions for charitable contributions, purported job-related expenses and medical expenses. McMiller also allegedly prepared returns claiming high amounts of legal and professional fees for customers who never incurred such fees during the year. The complaint says that McMiller prepared at least 230 returns since 2005 and that her misconduct may have cost the U.S. Treasury more than $5 million.

The permanent injunction order requires McMiller to mail a copy of the injunction to her customers and to give the Justice Department a list of her customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers.

“Taxpayers should know that the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department are working very hard to stop unscrupulous return preparers,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Since 2001, the Tax Division has obtained more than 330 injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns.”

Information about the Tax Division’s injunction cases is available on the Justice Department website.