Press Release
Court Prohibits S.C. Tax Return Preparer from Preparing Returns for Others
For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
Government Alleged Summerville Tax Preparer Filed Returns That Overstated Tax Refunds by Improperly Claiming Tax Credits and Directed the IRS to Deposit Refunds into Her Bank Accounts
A federal district judge in Charleston, S.C., has permanently barred Jessica Geddis, of Summerville, S.C., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Geddis consented to the entry of the injunction.
According to the government’s complaint, Geddis prepared federal income tax returns from her home and as a tax preparer at Smith’s Tax Service and, later, at MBM Tax and Accounting Services LLC. As alleged in the complaint, Geddis prepared returns that unlawfully overstated tax refunds through a household help scheme. The complaint alleged that Geddis prepared returns for herself and others that overstated income by reporting fictitious household help income in order to increase the amount of her customers’ refundable tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Making Work Pay Credit. The complaint further alleged that Geddis directed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to deposit all, or a portion of, her customers’ overstated refunds into bank accounts that she controlled. According to the complaint, the IRS reviewed Geddis’ bank records and determined that she received at least 148 tax refunds totaling $281,678 between January 2008 and May 2012.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2013, which can be viewed at www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Releases-the-Dirty-Dosen-Tax-Scams-for-2013 . The IRS has tips for choosing a tax preparer: www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/Choosing-a-Tax-Professional . In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website at www.justice.gov/tax/taxpress2013.htm.
Related Materials:
United States v. Jessica Geddis
Permanent Injunction
Updated February 5, 2025
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