The United States filed a complaint today asking a federal court in the Statesboro Division of the Southern District of Georgia, to enjoin Lakesia Michelle Mills, who does business as Willis Tax Service, from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.
The complaint alleges that since January 2011, Mills, who resides in and operates her business in Adrian, Ga., has prepared over 455 amended federal income tax returns. According to the complaint, Mills understated her customers’ tax liabilities and overstated their refunds by preparing amended tax returns that improperly claimed the maximum First-Time Homebuyer Credit of $8,000. Along with preparing the amended return, Mills provided customers a false settlement statement and proof of insurance to support the credit. Mills prepared the amended returns without signing the returns or including her tax preparer identification number as is required. Altogether, the government’s complaint alleges that the bogus credits claimed on the amended returns exceeded $3.6 million.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2013. The Internal Revenue Service 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.
Related Materials: United States v. Lakesia Michelle Mills, etc.
Complaint for Injunctive Relief
Source: US Department of Justice
