JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SEEKS TO BAR DETROIT TAX PREPARER FROM PREPARING FEDERAL TAX RETURNS FOR OTHERS

Complaint Alleges that Tax Preparer Inflated Deductions and Credits for Customers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States has brought suit against Markita D. Darden, a Detroit, Mich., tax preparer, seeking to bar her from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The government alleges in its complaint that Ms. Darden, who operates M & M Express Tax Service, prepared federal income tax returns claiming inflated deductions and credits for her customers resulting in an understatement of her clients’ tax liabilities.

In addition, the government asserts that Ms. Darden, without the knowledge of her customers, prepared income tax returns and subsequently filed some of those returns for clients indicating a greater refund due than the one reported on the customer’s copy of the tax return. Ms. Darden charged the difference in the refund amounts as a tax preparation fee through the refund anticipation loan account that she maintained, and retained those funds for herself.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, alleges that Ms. Darden’s conduct interferes with the enforcement of the internal revenue laws and causes irreparable harm to the government and her customers.

Ms. Darden is currently serving a fifteen-month sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, W. Va., after pleading guilty to one count of knowingly aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns.