Federal Court Shuts Down Georgia Tax Return Preparers

Woman at Augusta Firm Allegedly Claimed Fraudulent Earned Income Tax Credits

WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred two women from preparing federal income tax returns for others and from operating their tax preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.   Judge J. Randal Hall of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia entered the civil injunction order against Endia Delores Nipper, Jessie Mackie, and their business, TDNS Tax Service, which according to the government complaint, is located in Augusta, Ga. Nipper and Mackie agreed to the entry of the injunction.

In its amended complaint, the government alleged that Nipper fabricated or inflated earned income tax credit claims on tax returns that she prepared for her customers.   The government also alleged that Nipper prepared numerous tax returns claiming the credit but failed to comply with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)   “due diligence” requirements for verifying whether her customers were eligible for the credit and in what amount.

In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of 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.