FEDERAL COURT SHUTS DOWN BURBANK-BASED TAX PREPARER

LOS ANGELES – A federal judge has issued an order that prohibits the operator of a Burbank tax service from preparing federal income tax returns and other tax-related documents for clients.

Anthony R. Loya, the owner of Anthony R. Loya & Associates in Burbank, was ordered to stop preparing tax returns for others in a permanent injunction filed Monday.

United States District Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen issued the permanent injunction at the request of the United States Attorney’s Office, which had alleged that Loya prepared income tax returns that contained false or inflated expenses on various schedules attached to the tax returns. 

Loya submitted thousands of tax returns for clients over the past eight years. IRS auditors examined 3,294 tax returns and determined that the returns understated taxes due by $6,324,504 – or approximately $1,920 per return.

Judge Nguyen wrote in her order that if Loya violates the permanent injunction, “he may be subject to civil and criminal sanctions for contempt of court, including imprisonment.”