Federal Court Permanently Bars Michigan Man from Preparing Tax Returns

WASHINGTON - A federal judge in Detroit has permanently barred Eric D. Parrish of Ecorse, Mich., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The complaint in the civil injunction suit alleged that Parrish’s Detroit business, E Professionals, claimed bogus deductions and credits on customers’ federal income tax returns. The court found that Parrish repeatedly engaged in misconduct subject to penalties under federal tax laws, thus warranting the permanent ban on return preparation.

Court papers filed in the case showed that Parrish falsely claimed federal fuel tax credits on customers’ returns. The credit is available only for certain off-highway business uses, such as farm equipment. Claiming the fuel credit for non-qualifying uses is on the IRS’s 2008 list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams.

The permanent injunction order requires Parrish to contact all customers for whom he prepared federal tax returns in the past three years and inform them of the injunction. He must also provide the Justice Department with a list of his customers’ names, Social Security numbers, addresses and telephone numbers.

“This injunction shows that tax preparers who claim bogus credits or deductions can and will be put out of business,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Taxpayers need to choose honest, competent preparers and carefully review their returns for accuracy before signing them.”

Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against more than 330 tax-return preparers and tax-fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website, as is information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division.