The Tax Factor was created to educate individuals and small-business owners about taxes. Let’s face it, nothing in life is guaranteed except death and taxes. Okay, maybe that sounded pretty depressing but the goal of this blog is to help you find the information to learn how to make taxes work for you. Taxes can be extremely complicated but knowing about deductions and credits can save you thousands of dollars per year.
The New Inductee to the Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame goes to a..........FAMILY!!!!
YES, A FAMILY!!!!
In Brownsville, Texas, Judy Lynn McCune, Loretta Ann McCune and Rania Ann Sanchez have been sent to prison for conspiring to defraud the federal government by preparing federal returns and cashing refund checks in the name of deceased individuals. The three women entered guilty pleas in April.
Judy received a sentence of 57 months, Loretta Ann 20 months and Sanchez 24 months in prison. Restitution of $223,098 was also ordered paid to the IRS, and the women will be required to serve three years of supervised release following completion of their prison terms.
McCune admitted that she recruited members of her family, including her mother, Loretta Ann McCune, and her sister, Sanchez, into the scheme.
The story gets real crazy. Read more about this story by visiting to www.accountingtoday.com.
Well, I wouldn't want to attend the next McCune family reunion. This should be a lesson to not let bad relatives bring you down. Just because they are family, doesn't make them right! Keep it clean folks!
New inductee to the Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame come from the Massachusetts:
Preparer Kimberly Powell has pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court to two counts each of larceny of more than $250 and credit card fraud over $250, and a single count of making a false entry in corporate books in connection with allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from two local companies, according to published reports.
Powell, who is scheduled to be sentenced in February, faced charges of larceny that totaled $261,973.69 stolen in 2006 and 2007 when Powell was working as an independent payroll and tax preparer for New England Industrial Engineering Inc. Prosecutors also said that Powell added herself to the company payroll without authorization and was paid $175,973.69 to which she was not entitled.
The Department of Justice has asked a federal court to shut down a tax office in Nashville, Tenn., that allegedly prepared returns before tax season started. An injunction is being sought against Mo' Money Taxes licensee Toney Fieldsand co-defendant, Trumekia Shaw, who allegedly prepared tax returns based on pay stubs. It was only the latest in a string of problems and allegations surrounding the Mo Money tax preparation chain.
The two allegedly opened their office in December and utilized end-of-year pay stubs to prepare returns before employers issued W-2 forms in violation of rules of the Internal Revenue Service. They also are accused of creating fake W-2s to file with returns and of inflating or claiming fax tax credits, including the earned-income credit, in order to get larger refunds for their customers, along with utilizing false filing statuses and bogus charitable contributions. The IRS estimates it lost more than $15 million in tax revenue on more than 1,100 returns prepared in 2011.
Also, stay tuned because these two preparers may make the legendary Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame in 2013. The preparers have to be proven guilty before joining the club.
The new inductee of the Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame goes to....... A IDIOT!
A Santa Barbara-based CPA who claimed on his Web site that he has appeared as a tax and financial expert on national television shows was convicted by a federal jury on charges that he underreported more than $1 million by pretending that his accounting income had been earned by his nonprofit foundation for providing “marital counseling.”
Steven Mark Pybrum, 61, who operated his accounting practice under the names of Pybrum & Company, LLP, and Family Business Center, was convicted in October of four counts of subscribing to false income tax returns. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning their verdict.
Okay, stop the presses! I'm almost at a lost of words. I know how tough it is to pass the CPA exam. I can't believe that a CPA could do something this fraudalent and stupid. Listen to me People, stop assuming that our Justice system is made of a bunch of clowns! Money is not worth going to jail or losing an professional license. Just be happy, free and broke like the rest of us. Welcome to the Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame!
The Internal Revenue Service issued a consumer alert about possible scams taking place in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Following major disasters, it’s common for scam artists to impersonate charities to get money or private information from well-intentioned taxpayers. Such fraudulent schemes may involve contact by telephone, social media, email or in-person solicitations.
The IRS cautions both hurricane victims and people wishing to make disaster-related charitable donations to avoid scam artists by following these tips:
To help disaster victims, donate to recognized charities.
Be wary of charities with names that are similar to familiar or nationally known organizations. Some phony charities use names or websites that sound or look like those of respected, legitimate organizations. The IRS website at IRS.gov has a search feature, Exempt Organizations Select Check, which allows people to find legitimate, qualified charities to which donations may be tax-deductible. Legitimate charities may also be found on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Web site at fema.gov.
Don’t give out personal financial information — such as Social Security numbers or credit card and bank account numbers and passwords — to anyone who solicits a contribution from you. Scam artists may use this information to steal your identity and money.
Don’t give or send cash. For security and tax record purposes, contribute by check or credit card or another way that provides documentation of the gift.
Call the IRS toll-free disaster assistance telephone number, 1-866-562-5227, if you are a hurricane victim with specific questions about tax relief or disaster related tax issues.
Scam artists can use a variety of tactics. Some scammers operating bogus charities may contact people by telephone to solicit money or financial information. They may even directly contact disaster victims and claim to be working for or on behalf of the IRS to help the victims file casualty loss claims and get tax refunds. They may attempt to get personal financial information or Social Security numbers that can be used to steal the victims’ identities or financial resources.
Bogus websites may solicit funds for disaster victims. Such fraudulent sites frequently mimic the sites of, or use names similar to, legitimate charities, or claim to be affiliated with legitimate charities, in order to persuade members of the public to send money or provide personal financial information that can be used to steal identities or financial resources. Additionally, scammers often send e-mail that steers the recipient to bogus websites that sound as though they are affiliated with legitimate charitable causes.
Taxpayers suspecting disaster-related frauds should visit IRS.gov and search for the keywords “Report Phishing.”
More information about tax scams and schemes may be found at IRS.gov using the keywords “scams and schemes.”
The IRS is now sending letters to preparers who are suspected of filing inaccurate EITC claims.
The letters pinpoint the primary issues identified on the returns, explain the consequences of filing inaccurate claims for the EITC, and advise preparers that the IRS will continue monitoring the types of EITC claims they file. In other words, the IRS is saying "Go Ahead, make my day Punk!"
To all fraudalent tax preparers: If you get caught, best believe I will include you on my Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame posts.
To my fellow taxpayers: The EITC credit is not worth the risk if you are not entitled to it. Don't mess around with the IRS!
New inductee of the Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame goes to Antoinette Djonet
Antoinette Djonret, a former Premier Tax preparer, has pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns using stolen identities, according to reports. In August, a federal grand jury in Montgomery indicted Djonret and five others for conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities and various other charges. According to the Department of Justice, Djonret had earlier been charged with making false claims in a criminal complaint that was filed on February 22 and in an indictment filed on March 28. According to court documents, Djonret obtained stolen identities from state of Alabama databases, and she and her sister then filed false tax returns using the stolen identities and directed the false tax returns to prepaid debit cards. In total, the defendants filed over 800 false tax returns and requested over $1.2 million in tax refunds.
Congrats goes out to Djonret. Thanks for making tax preparers look bad. Was it worth the money.....nope!
New inductee of the Tax Preparers' Hall of Shame goes to Cynthia Carter.
A federal court has permanently barred tax preparer Cynthia Carter from preparing federal tax returns for others, according to the Justice Department. The civil injunction order, to which Carter consented without admitting the allegations against her, alleged that Carter, who does business as Cynthia's Tax Service, prepared returns for customers that reported false income and expenses and falsely claimed several tax credits, including the First-time Homebuyer Credit. The complaint alleged that Carter claimed the credit on her customers' returns even though the customers had not bought new homes and were ineligible for the credit, and that the IRS paid more than $900,000 to Carter's customers. The complaint also alleged that she claimed fabricated employee business expense deductions and EICs on her customers' returns. According to the complaint, the IRS estimates that Carter's fraudulent tax preparation could have resulted in $4.25 million or more in lost revenue to the government.
Congrats goes out to Ms. Carter. Thank you for making tax prepares look bad! I hope you enjoy your ban.
