Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Washington Return Preparer | OPA

The United States has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington seeking to bar a Kent, Washington, tax return preparer from preparing federal tax returns for others. The parties have contemporaneously filed a joint motion for entry of a permanent injunction by consent.

The civil complaint filed against Soledad Rubio alleges that she owns and operates defendant GIG Universal Multi Servicios. According to the complaint, GIG Universal Multi Servicios prepared and filed thousands of federal tax returns from 2014 through 2019. The complaint alleges that Rubio prepared federal income tax returns that underreport tax due by fraudulently claiming fabricated and overstated itemized deductions, unreimbursed employee business expenses, Earned Income Tax Credits, Child Tax Credits and Additional Child Tax Credits.

According to the complaint, GIG prepared nearly 5,200 tax returns in aggregate for tax years 2016 and 2017 and of that total, Rubio prepared over 2,400 returns. The complaint alleges that the IRS interviewed certain customers of Rubio and GIG Universal Multi Servicios about their 2016 and 2017 tax returns and calculated, based on those interviews, that on average, returns prepared by GIG underreported tax due by $3,421 per return for those years. Of those, the complaint alleges, returns prepared specifically by Rubio on average underreported tax due by $3,055.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. (More information can also be found here.) The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer, has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers, and offers information on how to avoid “ghost” tax preparers, whose refusal to sign a return should be a red flag to taxpayers. The IRS also has a list of important reminders for taxpayers who are about to file their 2020 tax returns, including how to prepare for a smooth filing process.

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.