WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Justice Department announced today that a federal court in Saint Paul has issued a temporary restraining order barring Nash Sonibare, who operates Liberty Financial Group in St. Paul, from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The temporary restraining order was entered after a hearing before Judge Donovan Frank of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
The government complaint in the case, filed last month, alleged that Sonibare, a Nigerian immigrant, repeatedly prepared returns for his African-immigrant customers containing false or inflated credits and deductions. The complaint alleged that many of Sonibare’s customers are recent immigrants with limited English-language skills from various African countries, including Somalia, Ethopia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Ghana and Camaroon. More information about the Sonibare case can be found at the following website http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv06064.htm.
Earlier this month, Judge Anne Montgomery of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota permanently barred St. Paul return preparer John Bartels from preparing federal income tax returns. http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv06128.htm.
The Justice Department has sought and obtained injunctions against more than 150 federal tax promoters and preparers since 2001. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Tax Division’s website at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax. The IRS recently listed return-preparer fraud as one of the 2006 “Dirty Dozen” tax scams. The “Dirty Dozen” list can be found at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154293,00.html.
###
06-132