Court Orders New Jersey Tax Return Preparer to Shut Down Tax Preparation Business

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey issued a permanent injunction against Newark-area tax return preparer Roxanna Cedeno, doing business as RC Travel Agency. The injunction bars Cedeno and RC Travel Agency from preparing tax returns, working for or holding any ownership stake in any tax preparation business, assisting others in preparing tax returns, and transferring or assigning customer lists to any other person or entity.

According to the complaint, Cedeno and RC Travel Agency prepared tax returns that understated their clients' federal income tax liabilities and overstated the refunds to which their clients were entitled by claiming, among other things:

• False Schedule C expenses and income losses;
• Fraudulent education credits;
• Improper child and dependent credits; and
• Improper filing statuses.

The court found that Cedeno "repeatedly and continually engaged in conduct" that was subject to penalty under statute and which "substantially interferes with the proper enforcement and administration of the internal revenue laws."

As a result of the court's order, Cedeno must send a copy of the injunction to all customers for whom she prepared or assisted in preparing federal tax returns and to all employees, contractors, and vendors of her business.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Wu of the Civil Division's Tax Litigation Branch made the announcement. Tax Litigation Branch attorneys Gökçe Yürekli and Adam S. Domitz handled this matter.

Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its websiteLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directoryLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tipsLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.

In the past decade, the Department of Justice has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department's website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Civil Division, Tax Litigation Branch, with details.