(Memphis) Attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit in federal court today to stop Stephanie Edmond and her business, the Tax Factory, from preparing taxes.
The complaint alleges Edmond and workers at the Tax Factory submitted returns with bogus credits, phony businesses and fabricated expenses in order to get clients higher refunds or lower their taxable income.
Court documents detail information from tax years 2008 through 2012, and covers returns prepared at the Tax Factory and a previous business owned by Edmond and her husband called Smart Choice Tax Service.
It estimates Edmond and her businesses have prepared more than 9,000 returns since 2011.
The DOJ is seeking both a preliminary and permanent injunction against Edmond and her companies.
Attorneys also say Edmond hasn’t filed returns for the company, or wage and earnings statements for employees. The complaint asks for that information as well.
The complaint reveals a federal agent identified more than 2300 returns with potential problems, with an estimated tax loss of $9.7 million over the last three years.
The IRS penalized Edmond with a fine in 2012 after an investigation.
Edmond’s husband, Kevin Williams contacted the On Your Side Investigators by phone and said they hadn’t seen a copy of the lawsuit as of late Tuesday afternoon.
Williams denied the allegations, saying, “We don’t file fictitious returns.”