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Two New Orleans-Area Tax Return Preparers Shut Down for Preparing False Tax Returns

A federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has permanently enjoined two New Orleans-area tax return preparers, Mario Alexander and Leroi Jackson, from preparing returns for others and from owning, operating, or franchising any tax return preparation business in the future.

The court entered judgment against Alexander by default, while defendant Jackson consented to entry of the injunction against him. The terms of the orders require that Alexander and Jackson send notices of the injunction to each person for whom they prepared federal tax returns and post the injunctions in places where they conduct business, including social media accounts and websites.

The U.S. government alleged that Alexander and Jackson prepared tax returns claiming fabricated business income and expenses, as well as claiming various false tax deductions and credits, including charitable contributions and education credits. They also allegedly fabricated business income and/or expenses in order to increase claims for earned income tax credits.

According to the complaint, Alexander and Jackson significantly underreported their customers’ tax liabilities, obtained fraudulent tax refunds, and charged exorbitant fees for their services, often without their customers’ knowledge. Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

The civil complaint also alleged that the defendants charged exorbitant fees for their services, often without their customers’ knowledge. The Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers in the past decade.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams, and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer and offers information on how to avoid “ghost” tax preparers, whose refusal to sign a return should be a red flag to taxpayers.

The IRS also has a list of important reminders for taxpayers who are about to file their 2020 tax returns, including how to prepare for a smooth filing process. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.