Tax Division

Court Shuts Down Ohio Return Preparer and His Businesses The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued a permanent injunction today against an Ohio tax return preparer. Emmanuel Antwi and his Cincinnati businesses — Manny Travel Agency & Business Services Inc. and Manny Financial, Insurance & Accounting Firm LLC — consented to the injunction, which permanently bars them from preparing federal tax returns for others. The United States’ claim for an order demanding Antwi turnover ill-gotten gains he received in the form of tax preparation fees remains pending. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9q-2Upj

Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Relief Fraud and Filing a False Claim with the IRS Defendant Obtained More Than $850,000 from IRS and SBA An Arizona man pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud and filing a false refund claim with the IRS. According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2020 and 2021, Roy L. Layne submitted false applications on behalf of several bogus businesses to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, two federal programs created to provide financial assistance to Americans suffering economic harm as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In those applications, Layne claimed that the businesses had dozens of employees and earned hundreds of thousands in gross receipts. To support his false claims and to create the appearance of genuine business activity, Layne created false business and employment tax forms that he filed with the IRS and submitted to the SBA. In total, Layne requested and received over $300,000 in loans to which he was not entitled. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gVKywvQx

Miami Tax Return Preparer Agrees to Permanent Injunction and Disgorgement Independent Contractors Who Worked with the Preparer Previously Agreed to Two-Year Injunctions The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a permanent injunction today against Miami tax return preparer Richard Louis, which bars him from preparing federal income tax returns, working for or having any ownership stake in any tax preparation business, assisting others (including family members) prepare tax returns or set up business as a preparer and transferring or assigning customer lists to any other person or entity. The court also ordered Louis to disgorge $390,000 in ill-gotten gains he received from his return preparation business. Louis agreed to both the injunction and ordered disgorgement. In June, the Court enjoined seven independent contractors who worked with Louis — Harold Bornelous, Romeo Davis, Teddy Davis, Joseph Garrett, Demetrius Knowles, Daniel Oku and Marlyne Wah — from preparing returns for others, but allowed the seven defendants to apply for reinstatement as return preparers after two years if they successfully complete the IRS' Annual Filing Season Program. The independent contractors agreed to the injunctions entered against them. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gtrMDNCK

#ThisWeekatJustice, the Department: ▶️ Sued RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters ▶️ Announced a major #HumanSmuggling update from Joint Task Force Alpha with ties to a 2022 mass casualty event in Texas ▶️ Launched a #CivilRights investigation into conditions at Tennessee’s Trousdale Turner Correctional Center ▶️ Announced that Former Congressman George Santos has pleaded guilty to #Fraud and identity theft ▶️ Ten additional states joined Justice Department’s suit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for monopolizing markets across the live concert industry ▶️ Deputy AG Monaco and DHS Secretary Canegallo joined #WomenInLawEnforcement at the Washington Nationals game Keep up with the latest news from the Justice Department at justice.gov/news For closed captions: https://lnkd.in/gcAKrZQh

#ThisWeekatJustice, the Department: ▶️ Attorney General Garland delivered remarks at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming ▶️ Attorney General Garland and Secretary Haaland of the Department of the Interior highlighted Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and the #HumanTrafficking crises in New Mexico ▶️ Sentenced a former Cornell student for posting online threats against Jewish students on campus ▶️ Charged the leader of an International Malvertising and Ransomware #Cybercrime scheme ▶️ Charged a woman for attempting to defraud Elvis Presley’s family ▶️ Sentenced a National Constitutional Militia member for illegal gun possession Keep up with the latest news from the Justice Department at justice.gov/news For closed captions: https://lnkd.in/gck8MwRE

New York Man Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Violation A New York man pleaded guilty today to failing to collect and pay over employment taxes from wages of his company’s employees. According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2015 and 2021, Nicholas Arcuri, of Staten Island — owner and president of Capri Upholstery Custom Furnishing LLC — paid approximately $2.6 million in off-the-books cash payroll to employees, from which he did not withhold from his employees’ wages any Social Security, Medicare or income taxes or pay over those taxes to the IRS. Arcuri concealed the cash payroll from his return preparer, knowing that he was required to pay taxes. In total, Arcuri caused a tax loss to the IRS of $486,753. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gqp9EMpp

#ThisWeekatJustice, the Department: ▶️ Launched the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program to combat #CorporateCrime ▶️ Highlighted ongoing efforts by the Department to combat illegal #DrugTrafficking ▶️ Took legal action against Norfolk Southern to protect American train passengers ▶️ Secured a guilty plea from a Canadian man who stole millions from American bank accounts ▶️ Announced a guilty plea in the trial of a Kansas man involving racially-motivated violence Keep up with the latest news from the Justice Department at justice.gov/news For closed captions: https://lnkd.in/gERTj5dE

Alabama Chiropractor Indicted for Tax Crimes Defendant Allegedly Did Not Pay $2.4 Million in Self-Reported Taxes and Tried to Thwart IRS Collection Efforts A federal grand jury in Birmingham, Alabama, returned an indictment today charging a Shelby County chiropractor with tax evasion, filing false tax returns and obstructing the IRS. According to the indictment, Gary Forrest Edwards, of Shelby County, was a chiropractor and owned Hoover Health & Wellness Center. In 2015, Edwards allegedly agreed to file missing income tax returns for 2009 through 2013 with the IRS. The indictment further alleges that Edwards — despite filing the returns as agreed and accurately reporting millions of dollars in income — did not pay any of the $2.4 million in taxes he reported he owed. When the IRS began trying to collect the unpaid taxes in 2015, and continuing until 2023, Edwards allegedly tried to impede the IRS’ collection efforts by transferring assets to his wife, submitting false information to the IRS about his assets, filing false tax returns and making false statements to IRS investigators. He also allegedly filed documents with a local court falsely claiming that Notices of Federal Tax Lien filed against him by the IRS him had been terminated. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gqEJcn9i

West Virginia Business Owner Charged with Employment Tax Offenses and Not Filing Personal Tax Returns A federal grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia, returned an indictment today charging a West Virginia man with not paying employment taxes and not filing his personal tax returns. According to the indictment, since 1994, Dean Dawson, of Hurricane, owned and operated Real Property Consulting Group LLC, a real estate appraisal business. The indictment charges that from the third quarter of 2018 to 2023, Dawson did not pay to the IRS the Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes that were withheld from employees’ paychecks or file quarterly tax returns reporting those withholdings, as required by law. Though Dawson allegedly provided his employees with Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, he did not file those forms with the Social Security Administration. Dawson allegedly used his business bank account to pay his personal expenses and directed funds to his wife who was not an employee. The indictment further alleges that Dawson did not file personal tax returns from 2018 to 2023. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gAEc_9yW

Alaska Doctor and Her Husband Charged with Health Care Fraud and Tax Evasion The Doctor Allegedly Deceived Patients About What Substances Were Injected and the Defendants Received More than $10M in Fraud Proceeds and Filed False Tax Returns A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment last week charging an Anchorage doctor and her husband with health care fraud and tax evasion. According to court documents, from 2010 to 2023, Claribel Tan, 60, a practicing rheumatologist, and her husband, Daniel Tan, 69, operated Claribel K. Tan MD LLC (CKTMD), a medical clinic in Anchorage. The indictment alleges that the couple defrauded health care benefit programs by causing the submission of false claims that misrepresented the type and dosage of medication, and the scope of medical services provided to patients. Further, the indictment alleges that both defendants deceived patients regarding the necessity of receiving medication at the clinic and created false medical records. The indictment also alleges that Claribel Tan deceived patients regarding what substances she injected into their bodies. In total, the Tans received over $10 million in fraudulently obtained funds. In a separate civil action, the Justice Department seized roughly $8.5 million of those funds from the defendant’s accounts. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9dQUkQz