The Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in an attempt to bar two women from preparing federal tax returns for others.
The civil injunction, filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleges that Cathy Vinnett, and her daughter, Lashanda Vinnett, both of Destrehan, La., prepared federal tax returns for their customers and claimed fraudulent tax refunds, states a news release issued by the Department of Justice.
The mother-daughter team then pocketed the refund money, alleged to be worth millions, without informing their customers.
Also implicated in the suit were the tax return companies owned and operated by the Vinnetts, which included D&C Tax Service, M&C Tax Service, Remarkable Tax Service, and River Parish Tax Professionals, which at various times were located in cities throughout Louisiana and Georgia.
As tax-return preparers, both women were enrolled agents, as opposed to federally licensed tax practitioners who are able to legally represent their clients before the IRS.
The Vinnetts are accused of having claimed tax refunds based upon false telephone excise tax credits, earned income tax credits, and first-time homebuyer tax credits.
