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Tampa Tax Preparer Banned from Federal Income Tax Returns
A federal district judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida has permanently barred Jeanne Covington, of Tampa, Florida, and her company, Jeanne’s Tax Preparation and Bookkeeping Inc., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice announced today.
The suit alleges that Covington has prepared returns that unlawfully understate income tax liabilities and overstate refunds through a variety of schemes, including fabricating or inflating business expenses that Covington’s customers never paid or incurred. The complaint also alleges that Covington prepared returns that wrongfully claimed tax credits, including education credits and the residential energy credit.
Altogether, the government complaint alleges that Covington’s activities may have caused millions of dollars in loss to the U.S. Treasury.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2014. The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.
Related Materials: USA v. Jeanne Covington, et al. Order
MANDATORY FACTS:
Defendant/Respondent:
Jeanne Covington
Exact Criminal Charges:
Preparing federal income tax returns that unlawfully understate income tax liabilities and overstate refunds
City and State:
Tampa, Florida
Exact Date:
No specific date mentioned in the source
Sentence/Outcome:
Permanently barred from preparing federal income tax returns for others
Dollar Amounts:
Millions of dollars in loss to the U.S. Treasury
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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