A federal court has permanently banned a Miami-area tax return preparer from the business after finding that the majority of returns he filed were loaded with fabricated deductions and credits. Aniel Saint-Hilaire is barred for life from acting as a return preparer, preparing or advising on anyone else's taxes, or even investing in or drawing a paycheck from a tax-preparation business, and he has been ordered to pay back more than half a million dollars in what the court called ill-gotten gains.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered the permanent injunction, according to FINCHANNEL. The order prohibits Saint-Hilaire from acting as a return preparer, preparing tax returns, or advising others in the preparation of tax returns, per the U.S. Department of Justice. The injunction also bars him from working in, investing in, or receiving fees from any tax-preparation business going forward.
Fabricated Deductions Across Nearly Six in Ten Returns
The district court found that 59 percent of the returns Saint-Hilaire prepared contained fictitious items. Per a magistrate judge report, Saint-Hilaire filed federal income tax returns using other preparers' PTINs and prepared returns that understated taxpayers' liabilities. The report also found he fraudulently claimed deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses, fuel tax credits, residential clean energy credits, and health savings account deductions.
The district court judge adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation on its findings before entering the permanent injunction the United States had requested. As part of the judgment, the court ordered Saint-Hilaire to disgorge $571,739.47 in ill-gotten gains to the United States, an amount that represents 59 percent of his net return-preparation fees.
Justice Department Attorneys Handled the Case
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Wu made the announcement of the injunction, and Tax Litigation Branch attorneys Jeremy A. Rill and Hana Bilicki handled the matter, the same account notes. Bilicki is no longer with the Tax Litigation Branch, according to the report.
The case, United States v. Saint-Hilaire, was filed in the Southern District of Florida under docket number 1:24-cv-20753. Court records reviewed via CourtListener show the United States filed its complaint for a permanent injunction against Saint-Hilaire on February 27, 2024, setting the case in motion about two years and eight months before the injunction was entered.
Part of a Broader Crackdown on South Florida Preparers
Saint-Hilaire's case is not an isolated one in South Florida's tax-preparation industry. In a separate Miami-area case, a federal court found preparer Espinal in contempt for violating a permanent injunction, concluding she frequently fabricated fuel tax credits and included more than $269,095 in fabricated or overstated deductions on returns prepared for customers who testified at the contempt hearing, according to the Department of Justice. Earlier this year, the department also reported that other Miami-area tax return preparers were preliminarily enjoined from preparing returns for others, in a case where defendants allegedly used schemes to reduce customers' taxable income so they could claim the earned income tax credit despite knowing they weren't eligible, per a separate Justice Department announcement.
The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that they remain responsible for everything on their returns no matter who prepares them. The IRS states that while most preparers provide quality service, some are unreliable or even fraudulent, and taxpayers are ultimately on the hook for their own return's accuracy. The agency has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers, along with 10 tips to help filers avoid tax-season fraud and safeguard their personal information.
