Court Permanently Enjoins Georgia Tax Return Preparer

A federal district judge in the Statesboro Division of the Southern District of Georgia has permanently barred Lakesia Michelle Mills of Adrian, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.  The injunction also requires Mills to send copies of the injunction to her customers.

According to the complaint filed by the department on ­­­­Nov. 1, 2013, Mills is a paid tax return preparer who does business as Willis Tax Service.  The complaint alleges that, since January 2011, Mills has prepared at least 455 amended federal income tax returns that claimed overstated refunds based upon fabricated First-Time Homebuyer Credit claims for $8,000, which is the maximum amount.  Mills also allegedly provided customers with false settlement statements and proof of insurance to support the credit.  The complaint also alleges that Mills failed to sign the returns she prepared or to include her tax preparer identification number as required.  Altogether, Mills allegedly claimed over $3.6 million in bogus credits on the amended returns.  Mills consented to the entry of the injunction without admitting to any findings of fact.     

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2013.  The Internal Revenue Service has tips for choosing a tax preparer www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/Choosing-a-Tax-Professional In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.  Information about these cases is available on the department website.

Related Materials:

United States v. Lakesia Michelle Mills
Complaint for Injunctive Relief
Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction Against Lakesia Michelle Mills d/b/a Willis Tax Service