The United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas yesterday seeking to bar a North Texas-area tax return preparer from preparing federal income tax returns for others.
The complaint alleges that Jennifer Murley and her tax preparation business prepared over 2,200 federal income tax returns and filed them during 2019 through 2022. According to the complaint, in a number of these tax returns, Murley and her business overstated the customers’ tax refunds by fabricating household help income, which can increase unlawful claims for tax credits, or by fabricating or inflating business losses to reduce taxable income improperly.
The complaint further alleges that by repeatedly understating her customers’ tax liabilities the fraudulent return preparation activities of Murley and her tax preparation business have caused a loss to the United States for returns filed during the years 2019 through 2022 totaling more than an estimated $2 million of tax revenue.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.