Justice Department Seeks Injunction Against California Tax Return Preparer for Allegedly Filing Fraudulent Returns

The Justice Department filed a civil complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against a California tax return preparer.

The complaint seeks to enjoin Maria Guitron, also known as Maria Lopez, both individually and doing business as Angel's Bookkeeping & Tax Service, from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing federal income tax returns for others.

The complaint alleges that Guitron and others at Angel's Bookkeeping & Tax Service, which is in Modesto, have allegedly prepared tax returns for customers that falsely understated their federal income tax liabilities by fabricating businesses and business expenses and fabricating and inflating deductions for child, dependent and education expenses.

The complaint goes on to allege that from 2011 to 2019, the IRS sent Guitron at least 11 letters notifying her of issues with the tax returns she prepared or sought improvements in her preparation. The complaint also alleges the IRS previously found that Guitron had violated due diligence requirements when determining her customers' eligibility for tax credits in 2013 and 2014, imposing fines of $23,000 against her in 2015. Despite repeated written warnings and prior fines, Guitron and Angel's Bookkeeping & Tax Service allegedly continued to prepare and file thousands of false tax returns every year.

As the complaint states, the IRS reviewed tax returns from 2019 through 2023 and interviewed a random sample of 51 customers of Angel's Bookkeeping & Tax Service from the 2019 tax year. According to the complaint, the IRS found that of those 51 customers, 38 had returns that understated their tax liabilities, resulting in approximately $103,474 in lost tax revenue to the United States from those returns alone. The complaint alleges that Guitron and Angel's Bookkeeping & Tax Service have prepared and filed more than 2,000 tax returns each year since 2019, likely resulting in millions of dollars each year in direct financial harm to the United States in lost tax revenue. Guitron's conduct also allegedly harmed customers by exposing them to statutory penalties and accruing interest for tax underpayments.

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

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS' Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against dishonest 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 guidance on the credentials and qualifications that taxpayers should seek from their return preparer.

In the past decade, the Justice Department's 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.