U.S. Court Bars Florida CPA from Preparing Tax Returns for Clients

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has permanently barred Max Holcher of Naples, Fla., from promoting a scheme he calls “Tax Engineering” and from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. According to the government complaint in the civil injunction suit, Holcher operates businesses known as Holcher & Company and Holcher CPA Group.

According to the government complaint, Holcher, a certified public accountant (CPA), helped customers claim improper tax deductions for such non-deductible personal expenses as home maintenance expenses, vacations, and personal vehicle expenses. Holcher allegedly also prepared tax returns for customers falsely reporting employment income as royalties in order to evade Social Security taxes. The permanent injunction order was signed by Judge John Steele of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The court order requires Holcher to mail a copy of the injunction to all persons for whom he has prepared a federal tax return or form since 2002 and to provide the government with a list of his customers’ names, addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers.

Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained more than 230 injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax