FEDERAL COURT BARS NORTH CAROLINA MAN FROM PREPARING TAX RETURNS

High Point, N.C., Tax Preparer Allegedly Claimed to be an Ordained Minister

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal court in Greensboro, N.C., has permanently barred Marcel Thomas and his company, Refund Recovery Group, from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The United States sued the High Point, N.C. man and his company in April, alleging that he claimed fabricated tax deductions on customers’ tax returns. The government complaint alleged that Thomas claims to be an ordained minister.

The suit further alleged that Thomas directed the Internal Revenue Service to deposit his customers’ tax refunds without their permission into his personal and business bank accounts, and then took his fee from those funds without having first negotiated the fee amounts with customers. Thomas consented to the injunction.

Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunction against more than 250 tax-return preparers and tax-fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2007.htm. More information about the Justice Department's Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.