Imprisoned Missouri Tax Preparer Permanently Barred from Preparing Federal Tax Returns

WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred Sharon Hubbard of Kansas City, Mo., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Hubbard consented to the permanent injunction order, which was entered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In 2006 Hubbard pleaded guilty to one count of federal criminal charges relating to assisting in the preparation and filing of fraudulent tax returns. She is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.

According to the government complaint in the injunction case, Hubbard prepared federal income tax returns for customers that contained fictitious and inflated deductions for charitable contributions, job-related expenses, and medical and business expenses. The complaint stated that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audited 58 returns prepared by Hubbard and found improper deductions on every one of them. The IRS estimated the loss to the U.S. Treasury from the defendant’s scheme was more than $4 million.

“The IRS and Justice Department have significantly stepped up law enforcement efforts against unscrupulous tax preparers,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “This case is one more example of the consequences that dishonest tax preparers can expect to face: prison sentence and a permanent ban on working as a tax preparer.”

Since 2001, the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 315 tax preparers and tax fraud promoters. More information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.