Skip to main content
Press Release

Federal Court Permanently Bars San Antonio Tax Preparer from Preparing Tax Returns for Others

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

A federal court in San Antonio has permanently barred a Texas man and his business, Cardenas Income Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The civil injunction order, to which John Andrew Cardenas consented, was signed by Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

The complaint alleged that Cardenas individually and through Cardenas Income Tax Service, which had offices in Uvalde, Crystal City, Kingsville and Corpus Christi, Texas, prepared federal tax returns for customers using fraudulent Schedule C businesses on the return to inappropriately reduce customers’ federal tax liabilities.  The suit alleges that the harm caused to the U.S. Treasury may exceed $900,000.  Cardenas, who previously pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return, agreed to the permanent injunction and admitted the allegations in the government’s complaint.

Return preparer fraud is one of the Internal Revenue Service’s (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. John Andrew Cardenas, etc.
Agreed Stipulated Judgment of Permanent Injunction Against John Andrew Cardenas

Updated July 7, 2016

Component
Press Release Number: 14-1152