A Florida man has been permanently barred from preparing tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax return preparation business, as part of a federal court ruling in Orlando, Florida.
Kerny Pierre-Louis, of Windermere, Florida, was also ordered to pay $1 million in disgorgement after a federal court found that he and his employees prepared fraudulent tax returns for customers.
The court, in a ruling signed by U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway of the Middle District of Florida, entered a permanent injunction against Pierre-Louis, preventing him from engaging in any tax return preparation activities.
Pierre-Louis agreed to the injunction and disgorgement judgment, but did not admit to the allegations made by the government.
The case against Pierre-Louis was filed in September 2014, alleging that he and his employees targeted low- to moderate-income customers with deceptive and misleading advertisements, prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns to increase their customers’ refunds, and profited through unconscionable, exorbitant, and often undisclosed fees.
The government complaint also named Jehoakim Victor and Lauri Rodriguez, former managers at Pierre-Louis’s tax preparation stores, as defendants. Victor and Rodriguez were permanently enjoined from preparing tax returns for others and from owning or operating a tax return preparation business in February 2015.
The IRS has identified return preparer fraud as one of its Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016. The agency has tips on its website for choosing a tax preparer. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.
Kerny Pierre-Louis, Tax Return Fraud, Florida 2014
Defendant: Kerny Pierre-Louis
Criminal Charges: Preparing fraudulent tax returns for others, owning or operating a tax return preparation business
City and State: Orlando, Florida
Exact Date: September 2014
Sentence or Outcome: Permanent injunction, $1 million disgorgement judgment
Dollar Amounts: $1 million
Related Federal Cases
- Dianne Mowatt, Tax Return Preparation and Filing Fraud, Florida 2014 · Florida
- Abel Raphael, Tax Fraud, Florida 2023 · Florida
- Nick Caty, Identity Theft and Tax Refund Fraud, Florida 2023 · Florida
- Marlan L. Copeland, Tax Refund Fraud, Florida 2010 · Florida
- Vory V. Copeland, Tax Refund Fraud Scheme, Florida 2010 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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