The Tax Times: Accountants Gone Wild! - - Fraud In Place of Genuine Tax Advice?

Monday, April 28, 2025

Accountants Gone Wild! - - Fraud In Place of Genuine Tax Advice?

According to the DoJ, he U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an injunction on April 28, 2025 against Miami tax return preparer Nia Daniel, which bars her from preparing tax returns for others, having any ownership stake in any tax preparation business, or assisting or training others in tax return preparation through at least Jan. 27, 2028. The court also ordered Daniel to disgorge $446,000 in ill-gotten gains she received from her return preparation business. Daniel agreed to both the injunction and ordered disgorgement.

The complaint alleged that Daniel understated customers’ tax liability and claimed inflated refunds largely by:

Falsifying or overstating business expenses claimed on a Schedule C;
Claiming the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for clients who did not qualify for it;
Falsely claiming other credits, such as the American Opportunity Credit and Residential Energy Credit; and
Falsifying income and filing status to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.

According to the complaint, the IRS estimated a tax loss of more than $500,000 in 2023 alone from returns prepared by Daniel.

Taxpayers Seeking A Return Preparer Should Remain

Vigilant Against Unscrupulous Tax Preparers.
The IRS Has Information On Its Website

The DoJ also did a press release regarding an Accountant Who Pleads Guilty to $8M Tax Fraud where they discussed that A Colorado man pleaded guilty on April 28, 2025 to conspiring to defraud the United States and tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Rodney Ermel owned and managed a Colorado-based accounting firm.

Along with co-defendant Kenneth Bacon, Ermel provided accounting and tax preparation services for Joseph LaForte and his entities. Ermel conspired with LaForte, Bacon, and others to hide approximately $20 million in income.

He did this through various fraudulent accounting practices, such as fabricating shareholder loans and “bad debt” deductions. Ermel also filed tax returns which he knew underreported taxable income by over $20 million between 2016 and 2018. Ermel’s fraud caused a loss to the United States of over $8 million.

Ermel is the fourth defendant to plead guilty to criminal conduct related to this tax scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?