WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that a federal court in Phoenix has permanently barred a Mesa, Arizona couple from promoting a tax-fraud scheme. The civil injunction order, signed by Judge Earl H. Carroll of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, requires Tony and Micaela Dutson to stop their fraudulent program and to furnish the government with their customer list, including names, addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers.
According to court filings in the case, the Dutsons sold a program that used sham trusts and corporations to hide customers’ income and assets from the IRS. Court filings showed that the Dutsons charged customers between $4,000 and $8,000 and that the IRS has identified over 100 persons who purchased the scheme. Micaela Dutson is a former practicing attorney who resigned from the Oregon bar in 2002 according to the complaint.
The Justice Department has sought and obtained injunctions against more than 150 federal tax return preparers and promoters during the past several years. More information about the Justice Department’s efforts against tax-scam promoters can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. Information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
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