Miami Return Preparer Agrees to Injunction and Disgorgement

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an injunction today 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.

The Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways safeguard personal information.

In the past decade, the Department of Justice 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.

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

Source: Justice.gov