Owner of tax preparation business indicted for tax fraud charges

Date: April 19, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

On April 11, a South Florida grand jury returned an indictment charging the owner of a tax preparations business with 15 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns and one count of contempt of court.

The indictment alleges that from tax years 2016 through 2021, Beatriz Toledo, of Hialeah, Florida, through her company, Immigration and Tax Service Group LLC, willfully prepared false and fraudulent tax returns for clients, which included false claims for the Residential Energy Credit, which allowed taxpayers to claim a credit for qualified energy-saving expenses, and false itemized deductions for state and local sales taxes, business expenses, and other itemized deductions. The indictment further alleges that as a result of these false claims, Toledo's clients' taxable income decreased thereby increasing their tax refund.

The indictment also alleges that Toledo's preparation of false tax returns on behalf of her clients were in violation of a permanent injunction previously entered against her by a federal district judge in 2010 (Case No. 09-cv-21987). In 2009, the United States filed a suit against Toledo seeking to bar her from preparing false tax returns. Toledo then signed a joint motion for entry of a permanent injunction, which the district court entered on July 26, 2020. That injunction prohibited Toledo from, among other things, preparing false tax returns through inflated claims for the deduction of business or employee expenses, assisting or aiding others to evade the payment of taxes or to prepare false or fraudulent federal income tax returns, and preparing or assisting others in preparing documents that materially understated an individual's income tax liability. Despite these prohibitions, Toledo continued to prepare false tax returns by overstating claims for the Residential Energy Credit and itemized deductions to reduce her clients' tax liability for tax years 2016 through 2021, as per the allegations in the indictment.

On April 18, Toledo made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman. If convicted, Toledo faces up to three years in prison per count and a fine of up to $250,000 on the tax charges, and up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the contempt of court charge.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

IRS-CI, Miami Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Will J. Rosenzweig is prosecuting it.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or at PACER, under case number 24-cr-20147.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.