A federal court in Fort Worth, Texas has permanently barred Munah Youssef, also known as Munah Harris Youssef, and her corporation, 3M & Sons Tax and Beauty Salon LLC, from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. U.S. Senior District Judge Terry R. Means entered the order, which defendants consented to. The order also authorizes the United States to conduct discovery to monitor Youssef’s and her corporation’s compliance.
Youssef and 3M & Sons Tax and Beauty Salon LLC admitted the allegations in the government’s complaint filed in December 2017, including the allegation that Youssef prepared returns for her customers that included false claims of education credits, fuel tax credits, and business expenses.
The IRS has a list of steps on their website that you can take now in anticipation of filing your 2017 federal income tax return and ten tips for choosing a tax preparer. Return preparer fraud was one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2018 and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has some information on their website about selecting a return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers.
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(link sends e-mail).
