Broward County, Florida tax return preparer Dexter Bataille is facing permanent shutdown after the Justice Department filed a civil injunction suit to bar him from preparing federal income tax returns for others.
The Justice Department, in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Bataille prepared hundreds of federal income tax returns from 2015 through 2023 that intentionally understated customers’ tax liabilities and overstated the refunds to which they were entitled.
The complaint describes various schemes Bataille allegedly used to fraudulently increase customers’ claims for Earned Income Tax Credits and Additional Child Tax Credits by manipulating customers’ taxable income in fabricating household help income, misreporting their filing statuses or claiming false business income and losses.
The alleged, systematic fraudulent manipulation of customers’ tax liabilities and refund claims has caused a significant loss in federal tax revenue, estimated to be over $1.5 million for tax year 2021 alone.
Bataille’s business, Capital Financial Holdings LLC, is also a defendant in the case.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Attorneys from the Tax Division are handling the case.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers guidance on the credentials and qualifications that taxpayers should seek from their return preparer.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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