FEDERAL COURT BARS TENNESSEE MAN FROM GUARANTEEING TAX REFUNDS AND MISREPRESENTING HIS CREDENTIALS

Daniel Gleason Sells “Tax Toolbox”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice announced today that a federal judge in Nashville has issued an injunction order that permanently bars Daniel Gleason, a tax advisor and tax return preparer, from falsely claiming that he is a lawyer and making other false claims about his education and experience. Gleason is the chief executive officer of MyTaxMan, Inc., which advertises on the Internet. Gleason http://www.mytaxman.net, is not admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction, nor is he a graduate of any accredited law school. The court order, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, also bars Gleason from making other false representations about his qualifications, including claims that he is an adjunct professor of business law and federal taxation, and has been an author, editor and reviewer of articles for Newsweek magazine.

The injunction also bars Gleason from guaranteeing that customers will receive tax refunds. Federal law specifically prohibits tax return preparers from making such guarantees. The order requires Gleason and his sales associates to post a copy of the injunction on their websites for a year and it requires Gleason to notify his customers about the injunction and to give the Justice Department, within 14 days, records identifying those customers.

“People who hear a tax-savings idea that seems too good to be true should be skeptical not only of the scheme, but also of the credentials the promoter claims to have,” said Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “A call to the IRS or a visit to its website can help you determine if the tax advice you are considering could land you in hot water.”

The Justice Department filed a 24-page brief last November detailing false statements that Gleason allegedly made about the tax benefits of his “Tax Toolbox” scheme. A hearing on the government’s motion to bar Gleason from promoting that scheme will be held in federal court in Nashville on March 18th. Michael R. Pahl, a trial attorney in the Justice Department's Tax Division, represents the United States in this case.

In a related case, the Justice Department last December sued an alleged Tax Toolbox salesman, Harry Anderson of Plano, Texas. Information about that case is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv03722.htm. Additional information about the Gleason case is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv03225.htm.

The Justice Department has sought and obtained injunctions recently against a number of tax-scam promoters. More information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2003.htm and http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2004.htm. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.