Federal Court in Illinois Bars Tax Return Preparer and Business From Preparing Tax Returns

A federal court in Chicago, Illinois, entered a permanent injunction against Leticia Rodriguez and Rodriguez Tax Services, barring them from preparing federal tax returns for others and owning a preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.

The court also ordered Rodriguez to disgorge $33,660, which it stated was "a reasonable approximation of the fees she earned for fraudulently reporting Child Care Expense claims on 187 of her clients' tax returns."

In its order, the court found that Rodriguez had continually and repeatedly prepared tax returns in violation of the Internal Revenue Code. Rodriguez prepared fraudulent federal tax returns for her customers by fabricating itemized deductions, falsifying self-reported income, and falsely claiming Child Care Expenses, according to the complaint filed by the United States in this case.

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers and tax scheme promoters. 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 here. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.