In order to hide evidence from the IRS two fires were intentionally set at Rush Tax Service locations, one in 2017 and one in 2019. The fires destroyed client files, financial records, and computer hardware.
Between 2013 and 2017, the owner of Rush Tax Service, Andrivia Wells, prepared more than 6,000 tax returns that falsely claimed more than $3 million in refunds. During this time Rush Tax Service received over 1.2 million dollars in fees from clients. The fees were taken directly from the clients’ tax refunds and in most cases the clients were unaware of how much they were being charged.
Wells prepared income tax returns for clients that claimed false filing statuses, false American Opportunity and education credits, and false fuel tax credits, among others, in order to inflate refunds. Wells also falsified her own income tax returns by underreporting the fees she earned from the business for tax years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2018 she failed to file a tax return with the IRS.
Wells pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns and filing a false tax return She was sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,373,595 in restitution.
