Federal Court Permanently Bars California Man From Preparing Property Appraisals

A federal court in Helena, Montana permanently barred Ron Broyles of San Rafael, California from preparing - or assisting others in preparing - any property appraisal that will be used in connection with federal taxes, the Justice Department announced. Based upon evidence the government submitted to the Court in support of a request to bar Broyles, the Court found that Broyles assisted in the organization of a timeshare donation scheme, directly participated in and promoted that scheme, which resulted in timeshare owners claiming improper federal tax deductions for donating their timeshares.

The Court also found that Broyles prepared at least 5,000 appraisals for timeshares to be donated to an entity called Donate for a Cause. Previously, the Court entered permanent injunctions against the other individuals and companies involved in the timeshare donation scheme, including Donate for a Cause, Timeshare Closings, James Tarpey of Montana, Curt Thor of Washington, and Suzanne Tarpey of Montana.

According to the Court’s order, each of Broyles’ 5,000 timeshare appraisals contained false or fraudulent statements about the allowability of tax deductions under the internal revenue laws, and that Broyles knew or had reason to know that these statements were false or fraudulent. According to the evidence submitted by the government, Broyles served as the in-house and primary appraiser for Montana-based organizations Donate for a Cause and TimeShare Closings doing business as Resort Closings. According to the United States’ evidence, between 2011 and 2014, Broyles earned more than $617,000 from preparing appraisals for timeshares to be donated to Donate for a Cause, which constituted all - or virtually all - of his appraisal income during that time. Between 2010 and 2012, Broyles’ appraisals caused his customers to claim more than $11 million in improper charitable contribution deductions, according to the evidence submitted by the government.

The court also barred Broyles from encouraging or advising others to claim charitable contribution deductions on any federal tax return. The court’s order also requires Broyles to identify all timeshare owners for which he prepared a timeshare appraisal since 2010, provide such information to the United States, and email, or mail, a copy of the court’s judgment to every timeshare owner for which he prepared a timeshare appraisal since 2010.

Scams that claim inflated charitable contribution deductions is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2017. The IRS recommends anyone who may have improperly claimed such deductions to consult a tax professional. Guidelines for valuing and deducting property donations to charity can be found in Publication 526 and Publication 561, available on IRS.gov.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked the IRS Revenue Agent who conducted the investigation and Trial Attorneys Richard G. Rose, Harris J. Phillips and Gretchen E. Nygaard of the Tax Division, who litigated this case.

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax return preparers and tax fraud 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 on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.