The Justice Department filed a complaint yesterday seeking to permanently bar tax preparer Juan Humberto Garcia, of Kissimmee, Florida, his son-in-law Marcos Yariel Figueroa, and Garcia’s business, the Tax Master of BVL Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others.
The complaint, filed in a federal court in Orlando, alleges that Garcia and Figueroa prepare and file false federal tax returns through Tax Master that understate their customers’ tax liabilities by reporting false or exaggerated itemized deductions and business expenses.
According to the complaint, the IRS interviewed Tax Master customers who said they were not self-employed and did not incur the business expenses reported on their income tax returns; they did not make the charitable donations or incur the medical expenses reflected on their tax returns; and they did not give Garcia or Figueroa any reason to believe that the items reported on their returns were legitimate.
The complaint alleges that, by repeatedly understating their customers’ tax liabilities, the preparers at Tax Master have caused the United States to lose substantial tax revenue.
In addition to a permanent injunction, the complaint asks the court to order the defendants to turn over the ill-gotten tax preparation fees they earned while preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns.
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, launched a free directory of federal tax preparers, 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 checklist of things to remember when filing income tax returns in 2025.
In addition, IRS Free File , a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $84,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronic federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free. The IRS also has tips on how seniors and individuals with low to moderate income can get other help or guidance on tax return preparation.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website . An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found here