A tax preparer from New Orleans, LA, Tiga Bryant, was named in a civil suit filed by the US to bar her from preparing tax returns as they were found to be fraudulent.
In the suit, the government claims Bryant attempted to fraudulently reduce her customer’s tax liabilities by claiming bogus deductions, false fuel tax credits and non-existent business expenses. In one instance, she claimed more business expenses than the wages the client earned.
Fraud involving the fuel tax credit was one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016. The fuel tax is limited to off-highway business use and not generally available to most taxpayers. In one return, Bryant claimed her client used 2,500 gallons of fuel for off-highway business when the customer did not even own a vehicle.
Of the 197 tax returns Bryant prepared that were audited, it was found that 189 returns had false deductions and/or credits that her clients were not entitled to, and understated the tax liability by over $800,000.
