Texas Business Accused of Tax Preparation Fraud
Prosecutors want to ensure Mayuen Ajak, Yier Deng, Bol Guot, Gabriel Kuot and Golden D4 Heart Tax Services LLC never provide tax preparation services again, according to an April 2 press release. They are accused of filing fraudulent returns and charging excessive fees.
Golden Heart Tax Services has provided tax preparation services in Texas since 2018.
Filing Bad Returns and Jacking Up Fees
The alleged fraud was twofold. First, the accused individuals engaged in schemes where they claimed unearned deductions on their clients’ returns. These included tax credits associated with COVID-19, education, fuel, and business expenses, the Justice Department said. The fraudsters are also accused of inappropriately filing for the Earned Income Tax Credit on many returns.
Second, the tax preparers charged undisclosed and exorbitantly high fees for these fraudulent returns, the legal complaint said. They deducted these fees directly from returns, so many clients had no idea how much they were paying.
Often these fees amounted to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Customers could be on the hook to pay that money back to the federal government once they file corrected returns.
Golden Heart Tax Services perpetrated these frauds for half a decade by preying on a customer base of immigrants with poor English skills and little knowledge of the U.S. tax system, according to the complaint.
Tax Season: Watch Out For Unscrupulous Preparers
The IRS warns taxpayers to be on the lookout for fraudulent preparers. Filers can be held liable for back taxes and penalties even if they did not knowingly do anything wrong.
The federal government has a database of fraudulent tax preparers who already have injunctions against them here.
For individuals looking for approved preparers, the IRS maintains a list of credentialed tax preparers here.
In addition to the injunction forbidding them from doing business, the Justice Department also wants Golden Heart Tax Services to return fees they have charged for their tax preparation services.
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