A federal court permanently barred Florida tax preparer Juan Humberto Garcia and his business, The Tax Master of BVL, Inc., from preparing tax returns for others. The court also ordered Garcia and the business to repay $558,520 in fees collected from clients whose returns included false or fraudulent information, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The order covers fees collected from 2021 through 2024 and was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, according to News4JAX. Before making it permanent, the court issued a preliminary injunction on February 13. More than a dozen customers testified that their returns included deductions and expenses they had not incurred or known about, the station reported.
The defendants continued preparing returns after being served with the government's complaint, according to the same report. Garcia and The Tax Master of BVL later stipulated to the injunction.
What the Permanent Injunction Actually Bans
The permanent injunction bars Garcia from preparing or filing tax returns for other people, owning or working for a tax preparation business, or advising others on preparing their returns, according to the station's report.
The order also bars Garcia from holding a tax preparer identification number or an electronic filing identification number, or transferring customer information he collected. He must close any tax preparation stores he owns, whether directly or through someone else.
A Second Preparer Faces a Shorter Ban
The court imposed a two-year ban on a second tax preparer, Marcos Yariel Figueroa. He may prepare returns again after that period only if he completes the IRS Annual Filing Season Program and provides proof of completion to the government, according to the same account.
The case echoes a similar action the Justice Department took against Miami-area preparer Aniel Saint-Hilaire, whom the U.S. Department of Justice says was permanently barred from acting as a return preparer, preparing tax returns, or advising others in return preparation under a separate injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Justice Department Urges Caution When Choosing a Preparer
What IRS data says about preparer misconduct
National data offers a limited measure of problems involving paid preparers: the Taxpayer Advocate Service reported that non-credentialed preparers accounted for 96 percent of the total dollar amount of EITC audit adjustments on returns prepared by paid tax preparers. That figure concerns EITC audit adjustments and does not establish anything about Garcia’s case or measure all improper reporting by preparers. The IRS lists claiming false or fictitious expenses or deductions on a return as a type of tax return preparer misconduct.
In the wake of the Garcia ruling, the Justice Department urged taxpayers to consult IRS guidance on choosing a tax preparer and to use the agency's directory of federal tax preparers before handing over their financial information, as reported by News4JAX. The department's broader account of the case can be found in its own announcement of the court's order permanently barring Garcia and his business and requiring disgorgement of the $558,520.
