Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Shut Down Louisiana Tax Preparer

New Iberia, La., Tax Preparer Allegedly Files Fraudulent Tax Returns for Customers

2014-04-08

The United States filed a complaint seeking to bar Joyce Bougere-Keyes, and her business, Joyce Tax & Financial Service LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

The civil injunction complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, alleges that Bougere-Keyes, of New Iberia, prepares federal income tax returns for customers that report fabricated and/or inflated business income and expenses to maximize the amount of the Earned Income Tax Credit her customers claim. Bougere-Keyes has also improperly claimed education credits for ineligible taxpayers. Since 2009, Bougere-Keyes has prepared over 7,500 individual income tax returns and the loss to the U.S. Treasury caused by her conduct could exceed $1 million.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice