Federal Judge Permanently Bars Texas Tax Preparers

A federal court today has permanently barred two additional former employees of Preston Tax Services, Inc., from preparing federal tax returns. Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas signed injunctions permanently barring Ethel Washington of Dallas, Texas, and Jason Jeroski of Mesquite, Texas, from preparing tax returns. The court previously barred Jeroski’s and Washington’s former employer, Tina Preston, and her Dallas firm, Preston Tax Services, Inc., from preparing federal tax returns. The court also previously enjoined three other former Preston employees –Gayla Oladele, LaTavia Glover, and Tyrone Williams –from preparing tax returns.

In the injunction orders against Washington and Jeroski, http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv09115.htmthe court held that they repeatedly prepared federal income tax returns containing unrealistic positions, including false business losses that they knew would result in the understatement of customers’ tax liabilities. The government complaint in the case alleged that Preston taught her employees how to list phony businesses on customers’ returns in order to report false business losses.

John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked Justice Department trial attorney Michael Pahl, who handled the case, and Glenda Dziema, a revenue agent with the Internal Revenue Service’s Small Business/Self Employed Division, who handled the investigation.

In the past decade the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 400 tax preparers and tax-fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site.