It might just be me but it seems that tax preparation businesses with unscrupulous owners have the most ridiculous names. Would you really trust getting your taxes done correctly and legally at a place called Tax Terminatorz? Well, people did and in the process were part of Tax Terminatorz’s grand plan to screw the IRS out of money.
According to the Justice Department:
A Maryland tax return preparer pleaded guilty [on March 5] to conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Anita Fortune, 56, of Upper Marlboro, provided return preparation services under multiple business names, including Tax Terminatorz Inc. Fortune prepared and filed returns using co-conspirators’ electronic filing identification numbers and identifiers, which they provided in exchange for fees and office space. For the tax years 2011 to 2018, Fortune and her associates fraudulently reduced their clients’ tax liabilities and increased their refunds by adding fictitious or inflated itemized deductions and business losses to the clients’ returns. In total, Fortune caused a tax loss to the IRS of $189,748.
Fortune’s sentencing is scheduled for June 4. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and three years for the preparing a false return count.
Authorities also said Fortune faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Happy 4th of July capital market servants, tax wonks and accountants of all stripes. 