Missouri Federal Court Permanently Bars Woman From Tax Return Preparation

WASHINGTON – A federal court in Kansas City, Mo., has permanently barred Marva Bilberry, of Belton, Mo., from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Judge Scott O. Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri signed the civil permanent injunction, to which Bilberry agreed without admitting wrongdoing.

The government alleged in the complaint that 98% of the returns prepared by Bilberry and examined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) required adjustments that averaged $3,167 in additional tax per customer. According to the complaint, the IRS estimates that Bilberry’s misconduct cost the U.S. Treasury more than $2.4 million since 2003. More information about the case and a copy of the complaint are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv07238.htm.

The injunction order requires Bilberry to give the government a list of the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of customers for whom she prepared income tax documents in the past five years.

Since 2001 the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 250 tax return preparers and tax-fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2007.htm. Information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/index.html.