OKLAHOMA COURT ACTS TO STOP TAX-SCAM PROMOTER

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma permanently barred Charles Chung from preparing tax returns for abusive trust schemes or “engaging in any other conduct that substantially interferes with the proper administration and enforcement of federal tax laws.” The court had previously entered a preliminary injunction against Chung on July 29, 2003.

The court order, to which Chung agreed, requires him to give the Justice Department the names and tax identification numbers of all customers for whom he prepared returns for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002. The Justice Department can petition the court to expand the scope of the injunction if circumstances warrant.

“The Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service are committed to putting a stop to the promotion of tax evasion schemes,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “This injunction brings us one step closer to that goal.”

The order extends to Chung’s businesses, which include Chung’s Tax Plus, Parakletos, Parakletos Professional Services, and Parakletos Professional Services LLC.

Copies of documents filed in this case can be found on the Justice Department’s website at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/chungprelinjPR.htm and http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv03172.htm.

Andrew T. Pribe, a trial attorney with the Tax Division, represented the United States in this case.