JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ASKS FEDERAL COURT TO BAR NEVADA MAN FROM PREPARING TAX RETURNS FOR OTHERS

Henderson Resident Allegedly Prepared Fraudulent Returns for Customers in 28 States

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today asked a Nevada federal court to bar Larry P. Goodyke, of Henderson, Nevada, from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The civil injunction complaint, filed today in Las Vegas, alleges that Goodyke and his businesses, Consultants by 5 and PC Computerz Tax Service, prepared for customers in 28 states at least 475 federal income tax returns falsely claiming either that the internal revenue laws did not require his customers to report wage income and file tax returns or that wage income is deductible from taxable income. The lawsuit also seeks a court order requiring Goodyke to give the Justice Department his customers’ names, mail and e-mail addresses, and telephone and Social Security numbers.

According to the complaint, Goodyke prepares returns that either omit wage income or falsely claim that wage income is deductible from taxable income because the payment of wages for labor is an even exchange of property. Courts across the country have repeatedly rejected these arguments. The complaint alleges that the returns he allegedly has prepared have claimed more than $10 million in refunds, with the average refund claimed exceeding $22,000. The complaint also seeks an order requiring Goodyke to remove false statements from a website he allegedly uses to promote his services, http://www.consultantsby5.com.

“The Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service are working energetically to halt the preparation and filing of false and fraudulent income tax returns,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Fraudulent tax return preparers not only cheat the federal treasury, but also cheat their customers by exposing them to possible civil and criminal penalties.”

This injunction suit is part of an effort begun in 2001 to stop the promotion of tax scams and the preparation and filing of false and fraudulent returns. The Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 100 promoters and tax-return preparers during this period. More information about the Justice Department’s efforts against tax-scam promoters can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2005.htm. Information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.