The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas permanently enjoined a Dallas-area tax return preparer today from preparing federal tax returns for others and from owning, operating or franchising any tax return preparation business, among other related prohibitions. The court also ordered the tax return preparer, Ashley Diondria Fisher, to pay almost $200,000 to the United States in ill-gotten tax preparation fees. Fisher consented to entry of the permanent injunction and disgorgement order against her.
The complaint alleged that Fisher operated a tax preparation business under the brand names Integrity Tax Services and Integrity Tax Returns, which filed tax returns claiming false business income or losses on Form 1040 Schedule C, false household help income and fabricated education credits. The complaint also alleged that the IRS previously suspended nine of Fisher’s Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs), which the IRS assigns to firms that have applied for and meet the requirements to file tax returns electronically. After the IRS suspended nine of Fisher’s EFINs, she allegedly used her aunt’s identity to apply for and use EFINs in her aunt’s name, and subsequently used EFINs in the names of others.
According to the IRS, anyone who is paid to prepare or assists in preparing federal tax returns is legally required to have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and paid preparers must sign and include their PTIN on returns. Not signing a return, commonly known as “ghost preparation,” is often a red flag that a preparer is attempting to avoid detection by the IRS. The complaint alleged Fisher operated as a ghost preparer.
The IRS estimates the harm caused by Fisher exceeds $3 million for tax years 2014 through 2019 alone.
The district court previously entered a preliminary injunction barring Fisher from preparing returns for others and has now made that disallowance permanent in today’s order. The terms of agreed order require that Fisher send notice of the injunction to each customer for whom she prepared federal tax returns and post a copy of the injunction in places where she conducts business, including social media accounts and websites. Fisher also agreed to disgorge $195,468.59 in illicitly received tax preparation fees to the United States.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Attorneys from the Tax Division handled the case.
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 warns taxpayers to avoid ghost preparers and lists other improper acts that tax preparers engage in to take advantage of their unsuspecting customers.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s 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 on this page