FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2007 WWW.USDOJ.GOV |
TAX (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 |
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FILES SUIT SEEKING TO BAR NORTH CAROLINIAN FROM PREPARING TAX RETURNS FOR OTHERS
Tax Preparer Allegedly Used Sham Trusts to Claim Improper Deductions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States has filed a suit in federal court in Raleigh seeking to bar Raymond A. Renfrow of Elm City, N.C., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleges that Renfrow prepared tax returns for customers that contained fictitious or inflated deductions. The suit alleges that Renfrow has prepared an estimated 993 returns since 2001 that have caused an estimated loss to the U.S. Treasury of more than $2.9 million. The complaint further alleges that Renfrow prepared false and fraudulent federal trust returns based on a tax fraud scheme promoted by Trust Education Services and National Trust Services. Information on other court cases related to those schemes is available at: http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv04081.htm and http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/prtax/txdv03332.htm. Misuse of trusts is included in the IRSs 2007 list of the Dirty Dozen tax scams. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=167983,00.html The lawsuit asks the court to order Renfrow to provide a list to the Justice Department of his customers names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and Social Security numbers. Since 2001 the Justice Department has obtained more than 230 injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. More information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site at: http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2007.htm. Additional information about the Justice Departments Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/index.html. |
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