Federal Court Bars Florida Tax Preparation Businesses and Their Tax Return Preparers From Preparing Tax Returns

The Justice Department announced today that a federal court in Orlando, Florida, permanently enjoined Advanced Tax Services Inc. and Genson Financial Group LLC from preparing federal tax returns for others and ordered the businesses to disgorge $710,191.55, jointly and severally, representing the ill-gotten gains that they received for the preparation of tax returns. The court also entered permanent injunctions and disgorgement judgments against defendants Lenorris Lamoute and Dosuld Pierre, whom the court found prepared tax returns for compensation at Advanced Tax Services. The order was entered on default because the defendants failed to defend against the government’s allegations.

The court found that the defendants prepared tax returns making false or fraudulent claims for the Earned Income Tax Credit, often based on fabricated business income and expenses, bogus or improperly claimed dependents, and false filing status. The court further determined that the defendants prepared returns reporting non-existent Schedule A businesses, false itemized deductions, false or fraudulent fuel tax credits, and bogus education expenses.

Previously, the court entered permanent injunctions against Marcgenson Marc, the owner of Advanced Tax Services and Genson Financial Group, as well as Tiana Character and Character’s business, Character Financial Solutions LLC, and Shirleen Thales, and ordered Marc to disgorge $710,191.55.

“The Tax Division will work with its IRS partners to shut down return preparers who claim improper or illegal deductions and credits for their customers” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Taxpayers should be vigilant so they do not file tax returns claiming false deductions.”

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Tax Division’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found here. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.