One of the reason you need to check out who is preparing your taxes are
cases like the following. You also need to look at your tax return for
correctness before you sign. If there are questions on your return that you do
not understand, ask your preparer.
In the following case probably everyone of the people that he prepared taxes
for will get audited to and guess who will pay that bill with penalty and
interest. You are right the people who’s taxes he prepared. Be careful
and if you questions about a return that has been done call me at 573-341-5578.
A tax preparer with businesses in San Bernardino County who was charged with
falsifying more than 1,000 tax returns, effectively cheating the Internal
Revenue Service out of $3.6 million, pleaded guilty in Riverside Federal Court
on Thursday.
Robert Dean Larsen, of Riverside, who ran Larsen's Tax Pros in various San
Bernardino County locations and Laza's Tax Service in Apple Valley, was accused
of falsifying and inflating deductions on at least 1,162 tax returns from 2002
to 2006.
Larsen is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 29 and faces up to 11 years in
federal prison and up to $750,000 in fines.
In one tax return prepared for a client in 2003, Larsen claimed deductions
amounting to $1,135 in real estate taxes, $10,096 in mortgage interest and
$4,750 in charitable contributions, when none existed, according to the plea
deal.
Larsen faced a maximum of 62 years in prison and fines up to $2.1 million
before changing his plea to guilty.
Larsen hired Christopher Daniel Laza in 2003 and by 2004 the two partnered
to form Laza's Tax Service in Apple Valley.
The two charged $150 to $400 per tax return and when clients questioned
deductions, would sometimes say Larsen "possessed a specialized knowledge
in tax preparations with regard to deductions or that receipts could be
obtained to justify the expense in question," according to the indictment.
Laza's trial is scheduled to start Sept. 28. He faces a maximum of 62 years
in federal prison and fines up to $2.15 million if convicted of all charges.
