Snakey Taxpreparer

[va703boy]

What is the name of your state? VA (Virginia)

Help Please.

My fiancee went to a taxpreparer that promised her more money than the others. She filed her taxes with him, and he almost doubled her refund by claiming mileage to work, medical and dental expenses(which are valid), and worst of all donations to religous organizations(which my fiancee says she never even hinted to the man about, because she did not give to charity that outragoeus amount $4000, she only made $41,000). Please some light on this will help us sleep better.

Will she get in trouble for signing the return??? and submitting it???

What should I have her do????? She is now completely lost.

The TaxPreparer charged her almost $500 for his services.

Please help....

 

[Snipes5]

Tell her to get an attorney. The first thing she will need to do is amend that return so that the numbers are correct, and pay back the fraudulent amount of the refund she received. To have her return properly amended, she will want to see an Enrolled Agent.

She will also want to report the preparer to the Director of Practice. The IRS has a fraud hotline, which can be found on the website, www.irs.gov.

Yes, she is liable for whatever is on the tax return, because she signed it!

Snipes

 

[va703boy]

Snipes, God bless you.

Will anything bad happen to her if she kept the money??? i.e. audit or anything like that because I spoke to a couple of her friends that he has been making their returns for them for the past couple of years, and they said that they have never doubted the man's abitlity and that he is a genius. I personally dont want to keep the money, but she does. And what legal trouble will she face if she attempts to return the money to the IRS, i.e. are they gonna slap her on the hand or are we looking at jail time? And what would they do to the tax preparer.

Please help

 

[LdiJ]

Snipes, God bless you.

Will anything bad happen to her if she kept the money??? i.e. audit or anything like that because I spoke to a couple of her friends that he has been making their returns for them for the past couple of years, and they said that they have never doubted the man's abitlity and that he is a genius. I personally dont want to keep the money, but she does. And what legal trouble will she face if she attempts to return the money to the IRS, i.e. are they gonna slap her on the hand or are we looking at jail time? And what would they do to the tax preparer.

Please help

If she amends her return before April 15th then she is looking at NOTHING...she wouldn't be in any trouble at all. If she doesn't amend her return and the IRS catches up to her with an audit then she is looking at paying back the IRS, plus interest, plus penalties....plus being looked at with a "fine tooth comb" for the rest of her life. Jail isn't likely if she is an ordinary low-medium income person....buts she has still placed herself in a stupid position. Since this guy is a clear cut "snake" her odds of getting audited are higher than most....which still isn't high...but I personally wouldn't risk it.

She knows that her return is false...that indicates "willful intent"...that is NOT good.

 

[va703boy]

VA.

do you know what we would be able to do to return the money that she paid him... and also if she has to report him.

thanks god bless

 

[Snipes5]

She *SHOULD* report him. Only an Enrolled Agent, CPA, Attorney, or other paid preparer working for him is "required" to report him.

The reason the IRS hasn't caught up with her "friends" who have had their taxes done by this guy is because the IRS is about 1.5 to 2 years behind on audits.

The current odds of being audited are 1 in 96 tax returns. 1 in 68 if income is >$100,000.

Incidentally, you may want to tell her that there is no statute of limitations on fraudulent tax returns, therefore, if they find some fraud, they can pull as many of her returns as they have records for, and make her life a living hell.

She might be able to get the money back that she paid him by going to small claims court, or she can ask him for her money back, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for either of those to result in any actual cash.

If she wants to keep fraudulently obtained funds, she is obviously a person of low moral character, as are her friends. That would certainly be an engagement breaker for me.

You sound like a responsible guy. You might want to choose someone else to be the mother of your children.

Snipes

 

[va703boy]

Thank you Snipes,

Can you tell me the neccessary steps to do the amend, and if there are any punishments to doing it, or if this will even be a blemish on her record.

Please some guidance we are misguided and lost.

god bless

 

[Snipes5]

If the return is amended, and the amendment is filed and monies paid back prior to April 15, this will have no effect on her life whatsoever, as was indicated by LdiJ.

Since there are overstated deductions on Schedule A, it will need to be amended. That is a complicated business at best.

My recommendation is that she take a copy of the return, and a copy of her records, to an H&R Block office. Ask to see an Enrolled Agent, or at the very least, a senior preparer.

Pay them to amend the return. If there are any errors, Block takes responsibility for any penalties and interest resulting from a Block mistake.

This might run you about $100 or so, but it will be money well spent.

Snipes

 

[LdiJ]

Maybe your girlfriend would "see the light" if you were to tell her that the IRS gives monetary rewards to people who expose tax fraud.....maybe that would give her the necessary incentive to do the smart thing.

 

[seniorjudge]

That Snakey Taxpreparer is an asp.

 

[va703boy]

seniorjudge...what is an asp.???

and she is being told by people that she is more likely to get audited if she amends the return.

 

[LdiJ]

seniorjudge...what is an asp.???

and she is being told by people that she is more likely to get audited if she amends the return.

I give up! Maybe your girlfriend is the kind of person who has to get hammered before she learns a lesson....but it could be a very expensive lesson to learn.

 

[ENASNI]

Dictionary.com

seniorjudge...what is an asp.???

and she is being told by people that she is more likely to get audited if she amends the return.

asp noun.
Any of several venomous snakes of Africa, Asia, and Europe, such as the small cobra (Naja haje) or the horned viper (Cerastes cornutus).

 

[Snipes5]

It's so much fun when people get advice from their Uncle Guido's cousin Charlie... The heck with an actual qualified tax professional, lets just do what the guys down at the bar think...

So she's immoral and also not too bright. Just don't say you had no indications of her true character when she shows it again at something that messes up your life.

Incidentally, if she does not amend, and you marry her, they can seize any joint assets to pay her tax debt.

Snipes

 

[va703boy]

I took her to a CPA and he is going to adjust the return. And pay back the amount which she was over-payed, which is only $$$350.00 because the CPA is honest and got her all the credits that she deserved.

And how would we go about reporting him to the IRS, and what can we do, if anything to get the money back

Thanks for all that helped!!!