Two Alexandria Tax Preparers Barred From Filing MD Returns

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Maryland authorities have barred 24 tax preparers in four states from filing electronic income tax returns because of possible fraud. The businesses, which have been sent written notice of the action, can undergo a review process that gives an opportunity for blocked preparers to have their filing privileges restored.

Comptroller Peter Franchot said Monday that the agency has stopped processing electronic tax returns from two dozen tax preparers in Virginia, aryland, North Carolina and Georgia. The immediate suspensions were due to a high volume of questionable returns received, his office said.

They include Richman Financial Services, 8404 Eureka Court, Alexandria, and Henry's Tax LLC, P.O. BOX 4916, Alexandria.

During the 2018 tax filing season, 74 tax preparers at 78 locations were flagged by Maryland authorities. Since calendar year 2016, 215 tax preparation firms at 228 locations have been suspended due to highly-suspicious tax returns.

"Our Questionable Returns Detection Team vigilantly monitors tax filings and is constantly keeping a watchful eye for unscrupulous preparers who submit false returns, causing financial harm to individual filers and their families and to the State of Maryland's coffers. Blocking these swindlers and protecting hardworking Maryland taxpayers is the agency's top priority each tax season," said Franchot in a news release.

When the comptroller's fraud unit detects suspicious tax returns, it issues notifications to those tax preparers and sends the list to the Maryland Attorney General's Office, which will determine the cases to be prosecuted after investigation by comptroller agents.

Since taking office in 2007, Franchot's office has identified and blocked more than 100,000 fraudulent returns and intercepted and denied $206 million worth of fraudulent refunds.

A complete list of all tax preparers blocked from filing returns is available at marylandtaxes.com.

Taxpayers should carefully review their returns for these issues and should be suspicious if a preparer:

• Deducts fees from the taxpayer's refund to be deposited into the tax preparer's account.
• Does not sign the tax return.
• Fails to include the Preparer Taxpayer Identification number "P-TIN" on the return.

If taxpayers suspect fraud, they should immediately report the issue to the Comptroller's Office by calling 1-800-MD-TAXES (1-800-638-2937) or 410-260-7980 in Central Maryland or by emailing TAXHELP@comp.state.md.us.

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Patch National Editor Deb Belt contributed to this story.