Justice Department Sues to Stop Miami Tax Return Preparers

The United States has asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami to stop Lazaro Jesus Toyos, Shirley Ester Almazan, Dilma Toyos Garcia and Daniel Almazan, and their companies L. Toyos Tax Service Inc., Toyos Garcia Tax Service Inc., Toyos Tax Service Inc. and Total Income Tax Services from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Lazaro Toyos became a paid tax return preparer in 1979 as an adjunct to his insurance business.  In the years that followed, he was joined in the business by his daughters, Dilma Garcia and Shirley Almazan, and Almazan’s husband, Daniel Almazan.  Since 2008, these defendants have prepared over 17,000 tax returns for customers.  The complaint alleges that the defendants prepare returns that unlawfully understate income tax liabilities and overstate refunds by fabricating and/or exaggerating deductions and tax credits that their clients are not eligible to take.  These alleged practices include fabricating business losses for non-existent businesses, falsely claiming the First Time Homebuyer Credit for taxpayers who did not actually purchase a home and falsely claiming American Opportunity Credits for taxpayers who did not incur education expenses or go to college.  Altogether, the complaint alleges that loss to the U.S. Treasury from the defendants’ activities may be in the millions of dollars.

In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained more than 500 injunctions to stop tax fraud promoters and tax return 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.