A federal court in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred Daniel Prewett from preparing tax returns for others. The court also barred Prewett from helping customers hide income offshore to avoid taxes, and from promoting other tax-dodging schemes. The court has also enjoined Prewett’s wife, Elizabeth George; former Prewett employees Frances Carlson, Elsie Chouinard and Natalie Swaney; and Prewett’s three tax preparation businesses, listed below. The individual defendants agreed to the injunctions.

A federal court in Savannah, Ga., today permanently barred Ophelia Kelley, of Vidalia, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others. According to the government complaint, Kelley operated two return preparation firms in Vidalia – Kelley Tax Service and City and Country Girl Tax Service. Kelley agreed to the civil injunction order.

A federal judge in Seattle, Wash., has permanently barred a District of Columbia man, William H. Camp, Jr., from preparing tax returns for others and from promoting a scheme involving bogus gold mining tax deductions. The permanent injunction order was entered by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, where a substantial number of Camp’s customers reside.

Frank P. DiMartino, an accountant from Orange, Conn., pleaded guilty today to charges of tax evasion.

The United States has filed a lawsuit against New York attorney Thomas B. Pruzan, d/b/a the Pruzan Law Firm, seeking to put an end to Mr. Pruzan’s repeated failure to timely deposit and pay the employment and unemployment taxes due from his law firm, as well as his failure to timely file employment and unemployment tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.

A federal court today has permanently barred two additional former employees of Preston Tax Services, Inc., from preparing federal tax returns.

A Connecticut federal court has permanently barred John Waszczak from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal district court in Connecticut has permanently barred Wethersfield residents Deowraj Buddhu and his daughter, Sunita Buddhu, from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Michael Wayne Sulfridge, a resident of Union Grove, Ala., and former vice president of corporate finance at Image Entry, Inc. (Image Entry), pleaded guilty today to fraud and tax evasion charges stemming from the company’s 2001 acquisition by Sourcecorp, Inc. (Sourcecorp).

On May 15, 2009, the Fifth Circuit, in Klamath Strategic Investment Fund v. United States (No. 07-40861), affirmed the district court’s decision denying over $50 million in claimed tax losses arising from the taxpayers’ investment in a “Son of Boss (BLIPS)” tax shelter.

Anthony G. Merlo, a former resident of Fort Worth, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The Department has filed suit against convicted tax fraud promoter Daniel Andersen to enjoin him from promoting fraudulent tax schemes. The government’s complaint alleges that Andersen directed the activities of both the Institute for Global Prosperity (between 1996 and 2002) and the Stratia Corporation (between 2002 and 2004). The lawsuit states that Andersen used these organizations to promote the fraudulent tax schemes sold by others in a series of audio recordings and at offshore conferences.

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred a Port Richey, Fla., tax preparer and his firm from preparing federal tax returns. U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the Middle District of Florida entered the permanent injunction against Frank Lighty and his firm, Lighty and Associate. Lighty consented to the permanent injunction.

A federal court in Boston issued a preliminary injunction ordering Excel Home Care Inc. and Diane E. Porter of Tewksbury, Mass., to comply with federal tax withholding requirements and to timely pay all future employment and unemployment tax liabilities.

Giancarlo Pertile was sentenced to prison for tax evasion yesterday afternoon. U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz sentenced Pertile, the former owner of Art Marble Design Inc., in Moorpark, Calif., to 60 months in federal prison and ordered Pertile to pay a fine of $75,000. In January 2009, Pertile was convicted by a Los Angeles federal jury of five counts of tax evasion for the years 1998 through 2002.

Winfield Thomas, a resident of Carey, Ohio, and Jeanne Herrington, a resident of Parma, Mich., were sentenced today to prison for conspiracy and other tax charges.

Michael Fisher, owner of Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. Inc. (FSG), based in Dickinson, N.D., today pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of tax fraud.

A federal judge in Sioux City, Iowa, has barred a Humboldt, Iowa, woman, Gayle Lemmon, and her tax preparation business from preparing federal tax returns. U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett entered the preliminary injunction against Gayle Lemmon and Gayle’s Bookkeeping and Tax Service Inc. The order, which Lemmon agreed to, remains in effect until further order of the court.

Donald Sikma, a businessman from Dyer, Ind., has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. Sikma, whose trial was scheduled to begin today, entered his guilty plea Monday before Judge Theresa L. Springmann in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Frederick Allen and Kimberlee Allen, both of Harwich, Mass., were arraigned today before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in Boston on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion and failure to file tax returns. The indictment alleges that the Allens conspired to defraud the United States of assessing and collecting federal income taxes from 1998 through April 2009.

Willie Borden, a former Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officer, pleaded guilty today to a criminal tax charge before U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson.

An indictment was filed today charging seven individuals -- three former shareholders of the Jenkens & Gilchrist law firm (J&G), the former Chief Executive Officer and a former tax partner from the BDO Seidman accounting firm (BDO), and two former bankers from a foreign bank with headquarters in New York (Bank A) -- with tax fraud conspiracy and related crimes arising out of tax shelters promoted by J&G, BDO, and the bank.

A federal court in Atlanta has permanently barred Derrick Jackson and his businesses from preparing federal tax returns for others. The court said that since 2002, Jackson "has prepared blatantly fraudulent tax returns for customers." Jackson’s businesses were called Tax Wisdom and International Tax and Accounting Services.

Following a four-day trial and less than an hour of deliberations, a federal jury today convicted tax return preparer, Marcel J. Toto-Ngosso, of Silver Spring, Md., of 17 counts of preparing false tax returns in connection with a scheme to generate fraudulent tax refunds for client-taxpayers.

Lawrence Cohen, a resident of Las Vegas and a former employee of the now defunct Freedom Books, pleaded guilty today to a tax charge before U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson in Las Vegas. Cohen pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false 2000 Form 1040 for a client of Freedom Books.

Two Baltimore businessmen were indicted today for conspiring to rig bids at tax lien auctions in Maryland for more than five years. The one-count felony indictment filed today in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore alleges that Harvey M. Nusbaum and his business partner, Jack W. Stollof, participated in a conspiracy to rig bids in tax lien auctions conducted by the city of Baltimore and various counties in the state of Maryland beginning in or around the Spring of 2002 and continuing until at least Aug. 9, 2007.

Sims Lawson Jr., a resident of Killen, Ala., pleaded guilty yesterday to filing false tax returns for years 2002 through 2004. Lawson appeared before Judge R. David Proctor in Birmingham, Ala., and admitted that he failed to pay federal income taxes of $369,038 and state income taxes of $50,938.

A federal court has permanently enjoined Reinhold Sommerstedt, a Las Vegas-based promoter of a sham trust tax scam.

UBS client, Steven Michael Rubinstein of Boca Raton, Fla., pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return for tax year 2004. On April 1, 2009, Rubinstein was charged with filing a false tax return that intentionally failed to disclose the existence of a Swiss bank account maintained by UBS of which he was the beneficial owner and failed to report any income earned on that account.

Tijani Ahmed Saani, a former civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense, pleaded guilty today to filing false tax returns for tax years 2003 through 2007. Saani, 53, a former resident of Kuwait City, Kuwait, worked as a contracting officer in Kuwait from 1994 until his arrest in May 2008. According to the indictment to which Saani pleaded guilty, he worked on detail from 2002 to 2007 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

John D. Stacey, a resident of Phoenix, was convicted today of income tax evasion, corrupt interference with the due administration of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and multiple counts of fraudulent use of a social security number. A federal jury convicted Stacey of all counts of the indictment following a three week trial before Judge Neil V. Wake in Phoenix.

Sheri Redekker Barry and Warren Thomas Barry, a wife and husband who are both real estate agents in Fort Myers, Fla., have been sentenced to prison for conspiracy and failure to file tax returns. U.S. District Court Judge John E. Steele on Monday sentenced Sheri Barry to 36 months in prison and Warren Barry to 24 months in prison. The court also ordered the Barrys to pay restitution in the amount of $555,728.

Roderick Prescott, a resident of Orem, Utah, and a former principal of National Trust Services (NTS) in San Jose, Calif., and later Selma, Ore., pleaded guilty today to tax evasion. Prescott admitted to evading at least $550,000 in personal income taxes for 1998 and 1999. Prescott was scheduled to begin trial on July 7, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Ore.

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred eight men – including five tax preparers and two Certified Public Accountants (CPA) – from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme involving bogus income tax credits.

A federal jury in New York has rejected the $24 million tax refund claim filed by Altria Group Inc. relating to its investment in lease-in, lease-out (LILO), and sale-in, lease-out (SILO) tax shelters. The verdict follows a three-week trial in the Southern District of New York before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell.

Paul Richard Arceneaux, a resident of Church Point, La., was sentenced today to prison for failing to file his personal tax returns for 2003 and 2004 and corruptly interfering with the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws. The Honorable Walter J. Gex III, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, sentenced Arceneaux to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The court also ordered Arceneaux to pay restitution of $176,616.18.

The United States has sued four Hialeah, Fla., tax return preparers –Alberto Alem, Beatriz Sardinas and Pilar Medina and their company, PCPS Corp. – seeking to put them out of business. The civil injunction suit was filed in Miami with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. According to the civil injunction complaint, the defendants prepare federal income tax returns with fabricated claims for the federal fuel tax credit.

A federal court has permanently barred a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,-area woman and her company from preparing federal income tax returns for others. According to the government complaint in the case, Carole Exantus of Plantation, Fla., operated a company called J’s Corporation in Miami. The court found that J’s Corporation repeatedly prepared federal income tax returns claiming false tax credits and deductions that it knew would result in understating customers’ tax liabilities.

Bradley C. Brennecke and Bruce A. Mrusek appeared in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hogan in Cincinnati on conspiracy and various tax charges. Mrusek and Brennecke, who are both dentists, were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury and charged with tax evasion, conspiracy to defraud the IRS and passing fictitious instruments. Mrusek was also charged with filing false business tax returns.

Jeffrey P. Chernick, of Stanfordville, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to charges of filing a false tax return. Chernick, who owns a corporation which represents toy manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $8 million in Swiss bank accounts.

A federal court in Seattle has permanently barred Daniel Andersen from promoting fraudulent tax schemes. Documents the government filed on August 11 requested that the court enjoin Andersen, arguing that he was a founding member of the Institute for Global Prosperity, an entity that promoted both its own fraudulent tax scheme and the fraudulent tax schemes of others.

Craig Shaber, an attorney from San Diego was arraigned today before Magistrate Judge Anthony J. Battaglia in that city on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and tax evasion for years 2000 to 2002. On Aug. 14, 2009, Steven Wright, an accountant, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler to one count of tax evasion for the 2000 tax year.

Bill Melot, a resident of Hobbs, N.M., appeared in federal court today before Magistrate Karen B. Molzen in Las Cruces, N.M., on tax and false statement charges. Melot, a farmer who owns approximately 250 acres in Lea County, N.M., was charged with tax evasion, failing to file tax returns, corruptly impeding the IRS, and making false statements to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A federal district judge in New York has permanently barred Howard Levine from preparing federal tax returns for others. The court also ordered Levine to provide his customer lists to the government and to mail copies of the court order to his customers.

Fe S. Garrett, a resident of National City, Calif., was convicted today of filing false individual tax returns, failure to pay taxes, and multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. A federal jury convicted Garrett of 28 counts of the superseding indictment following a nine-day trial before U.S. Judge M. James Lorenz in San Diego.

Seven individuals from around New England have been indicted in federal court in Boston for conspiracies to defraud the United States through the promotion and use of multiple tax fraud schemes.

Former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld of Weymouth, Mass., has been sentenced to 40 months incarceration by Judge William J. Zloch in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. On June 19, 2008, Birkenfeld pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States.

Donald Platten of Boca Raton, Fla., was convicted today of conspiracy, securities fraud and tax charges following a jury trial before Judge Donald Middlebrooks in West Palm Beach, Fla. In December 2008, Platten was indicted on 17 charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and impeding the internal revenue laws.

A federal judge in Dallas has permanently barred Lennon Madzima from preparing federal tax returns for others. The court found Madzima repeatedly understated his customers’ income tax liabilities “by negligently and willfully claiming frivolous and meritless federal fuel tax credits that had no realistic possibility of being sustained on the merits” and “by negligently and willfully inflating or fabricating telephone excise tax refund credits.”

Rodney K. Justin, a medical doctor from Woodleaf, N.C., was convicted yesterday of obstructing the internal revenue laws and of failing to file tax returns for several years. After trial in Winston-Salem, N.C., a federal jury convicted Justin of four felony counts of corruptly obstructing the administration of the internal revenue laws by sending fake financial instruments called “Bills of Exchange” to the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., in purported payment of over $350,000 in taxes.