Justice Department Files Lawsuit to Shut Down Chicago Tax Preparation Business

Co-Owner Allegedly Claims Tax Deductions for Fake Expenses on Customer Returns

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2014-03-11

The United States has sued The Tax Helper Corp, a tax preparation business with a store located in Chicago, and seeks to permanently bar the company and its alleged co-owner, Johnnie Pernell Jr., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

According to the complaint, Pernell Jr. prepared tax returns that falsely claimed deductions for fake business expenses and phony education expenses. One example described in the complaint details how Pernell Jr. allegedly prepared a tax return that improperly claimed a fake electrical business for one customer – reporting no income from the electrical business, but more than $24,000 in bogus losses. The customer, according to the complaint, informed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that he did not own an electrical business, had not provided any documents to Pernell Jr. to support the expenses that were claimed and had no idea how Pernell Jr. had determined the amount of expenses reported on his return.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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