COURT ENJOINS OKLAHOMA SHAM TAX RETURN PREPARER

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Late yesterday, a federal judge in Tulsa, Okla., ordered Charles R. Chung to stop preparing tax returns for sham trust schemes. The preliminary injunction, entered by United States District Judge Terence Kern, also directed Chung to stop "any other conduct that substantially interferes with the proper administration and enforcement of the internal revenue laws." Chung was also ordered to send copies of the injunction to customers for whom he prepared trust tax returns. The order, entered with Chung's consent, extends to Chung's businesses including Chung's Tax Plus, Parakletos, Parakletos Professional Services, and Parakletos Professional Services, L.L.C.

"The Justice Department is determined to stop the promotion of tax evasion schemes," said Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Tax Division. "Law-abiding taxpayers and tax return preparers deserve no less."

The government filed the case against Chung in March 2003. According to court papers filed in the suit, the government estimates that returns prepared by Chung for abusive trust schemes cost the U.S. Treasury more than $6 million from 1997 to 2001.

For a copy of the government's complaint in the lawsuit, go to txdv03172.htm

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