Federal authorities say they have recently prosecuted a number of tax preparers in Kentucky who falsified returns. During a news conference in Louisville Monday, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky John Kuhn, said it’s important that the public guard against dishonest preparers.
"Taxpayers have to remain diligent when they work with return preparers," emphasized Kuhn. "Taxpayers remain responsible for the contents of their returns."
Two Logan County tax preparers, Tara L. Mitchell and Mechelle Blankenship, were recently charged with falsely claiming education credits for taxpayers who were not entitled to them.
Kuhn explained that some preparers who charge clients a percentage of their tax refund intentionally prepare false returns to increase their clients’ refund and their own fees. Taxpayers are also warned against phone and online scammers looking to steal personal information.
Most people have until April 18 to file their income tax returns.
According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. taxpayers filed approximately 150 million tax returns in 2014, and the IRS identified more than two million of those returns as fraudulent, totaling more than $15 billion.
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