January 10, 11

NEWS / Federal Court Permanently Bars Florida Woman from Preparing Federal Tax Returns for Others

Pembroke Pines Woman Allegedly Claimed Improper First Time Homebuyer Credits and Other Items On Customers’ Returns

WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred Dianelys Armengol Guevara of Pembroke Pines, Fla., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The permanent injunction order, to which Guevara consented, was entered by Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale.

The government complaint in the case alleges that Guevara has prepared returns that falsely claim tax credits and deductions, including the first-time-homebuyer credit, for her customers. According to the complaint, Guevara improperly claimed over $950,000 in homebuyer credits, misrepresented the requirements for the credit to her customers, failed to disclose to her customers that a person must actually purchase a home in order to claim the credit, and claimed the credit without her customers’ knowledge or against their wishes.

The government’s suit also claims that Guevara failed to identify herself properly as the paid tax return preparer on many of the returns. She allegedly used a fictitious Social Security number to identify herself on hundreds of returns she prepared.

In the past 10 years the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax-fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/January/11-tax-023.html