March 26, 10

NEWS / Federal Court Orders Kansas Tax Preparer to Stop False Claims

Garden City Man Barred From Claiming False Dependent Exemptions And False Filing Statuses for Customers

WASHINGTON – A federal judge in Kansas City, Kan., has issued a preliminary injunction barring a Garden City, Kan., tax preparer, Jose Lares, from preparing returns with false dependent exemptions and false filing statuses, the Justice Department announced today. Lares operates Dinero Rapido Tax Service in Garden City. The preliminary injunction was entered by Kathryn H. Vratil, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

Lares consented to the preliminary injunction without admitting wrongdoing. It will remain in effect while the case is pending. The Justice Department complaint in the case seeks to bar Lares permanently from preparing any federal tax returns.

According to the government complaint, Lares claims false dependent exemptions and false filing statuses on customers’ returns. Lares previously operated a business in Garden City with a slightly different name —Income Tax Dinero Rapido. The complaint alleges that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits of clients of the former company resulted in customers owing more than $2 million. The complaint further states that IRS audits of customers of Lares’s current business, Dinero Rapido Tax Services, has revealed an average tax loss of over $6,000 per return.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/March/10-tax-310.html