Federal Court Shuts Down Florida Tax Return Preparer | WPN World People News

On June 25, a federal court in Miami permanently barred Jessyca Bernard from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced on June 25. The civil injunction order, to which Bernard agreed, was signed by Chief Judge K. Michael Moore of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The complaint alleges that Bernard, of Lauderhill, Florida, owned and operated Proper Taxes, Inc. in Miami Gardens, Florida. According to the complaint, Bernard fabricated losses for her customers’ side businesses in order to secure refunds to which her customers were not entitled. In one example cited in the complaint, Bernard prepared a customer’s tax returns that reported losses of more than $27,000 and $22,000 based upon fictitious expenditures for supplies, utilities, and medical expenses. Bernard also prepared a customer’s return that fabricated more than $11,000 in losses, including $8,000 in supplies for the customer’s side business of washing cars on weekends, according to the complaint.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice