MICHIGAN TAX PREPARER INDICTED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT

Defendant Allegedly Defied Court Orders to Stop Preparing Tax Returns for Clients

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Margaret M. Chiara, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, announced today that a federal grand jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan has returned an indictment against Robert L. Mosher. The indictment charges Mr. Mosher with six counts of criminal contempt for violating two injunction orders entered against him by the U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. The injunction orders, entered October 27, 2003 and March 15, 2004, each prohibited Mr. Mosher from giving tax advice and providing other tax services for compensation, acting as an income tax return preparer, promoting trusts, and representing clients. Evidence offered in support of the government’s request for the injunctions established that Mr. Mosher had prepared fraudulent returns that understated income and tax for frivolous reasons.

“The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the injunctions it obtains against people who promote tax fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General O’Connor. “Violating a court-ordered injunction can have serious consequences, including potential criminal prosecution and jail.”

The indictment alleges that after the injunction orders were entered, Mr. Mosher provided tax advice and other tax services for compensation and acted as an income tax return preparer, preparing six tax returns for five different taxpayers. The indictment also alleges that Mr. Mosher falsely told customers he could legally prepare tax returns provided that he did not sign them or his customers copied the returns onto new forms.

Mr. Mosher is the second tax return preparer indicted this month for violating an injunction. The injunctions in this case were obtained by attorneys from the Department of Justice’s Tax Division, following an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service’s Small Business/Self Employed Division. Information about the permanent injunctions may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv04165.htm.

If convicted, the punishment for contempt of court (18 U.S.C. § 401) is a fine or imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of the court.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. In the American justice system, a person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty in a court of law.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.

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