Federal Court Bars Pittsburgh Man From Preparing Federal Tax Returns

A federal court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, permanently barred Larry E. Snow from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.  Snow allegedly claimed false tax deductions on customers’ tax returns.

Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill for the Western District of Pennsylvania entered the injunction against Snow on Sept. 23 after Snow failed to contest the government’s claims.  In 2012, Snow pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent income tax returns and was later sentenced to six months of home detention and three years probation.  According to the complaint, Snow repeatedly prepared returns with false deductions for medical expenses, personal property taxes, charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses.  He allegedly maintained a list he referred to as “IRS Gimmies,” which were items he instructed his employees to report on each return prepared in his accounting practice, regardless of whether the customer was entitled to them.

The IRS estimated that Snow’s fraudulent return preparation for one year alone cost the U.S. Treasury more than $1.3 million in lost tax revenue.  The court also ordered Snow to notify his former customers of the injunction entered against him.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS' Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2014.  The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer.  In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.  An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

Related Materials:

United States v. Larry E. Snow
Default Judgment Against Defendant Larry E. Snow