Dallas Area Man Barred by Court from Operating Tax Service

Prepared Federal Income Tax Returns Falsely Showing No Income

WASHINGTON – A federal court in Dallas has permanently barred Arlington, Texas, businessman Phillip M. Ballard from preparing federal income tax returns for anyone other than himself, the Justice Department announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Jorge A. Solis issued the civil injunction order, which also bars Ballard from representing customers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The court found that Ballard, whose business is called Asset & IRS Shield, Inc., illegally prepared federal income tax returns for customers that falsely showed nothing but zeros on most if not all lines. The “zero return” scheme has been on past IRS annual lists of the Dirty Dozen tax scams. A notorious tax resister who promoted the zero-return scheme, Irwin Schiff, is currently serving a prison sentence following his criminal conviction for promoting the scam.

The court’s order also requires Ballard to notify his customers of the injunction and prohibits him from advertising tax return preparation services on his Web site.

Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained more than 310 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 website, as is information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division.