Justice Department Sues to Close Dallas-Area Tax Preparer

Seagoville, Texas Man Allegedly Claims Phony Credits for Customers to Get Tax Refunds

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States has asked a federal court to shut down a Dallas-area tax return preparer, the Justice Department announced today. The government complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas alleges that Travis Nicholas Stenline of Seagoville, Texas, operates a business he calls Nick Tax or Nick's Taxes that prepares fraudulent returns for customers.

The government complaint alleges that Stenline prepared and filed about 250 federal income tax returns claiming improper refunds exceeding $880,000. Examples of alleged fraud cited in the complaint include bogus claims for telephone excise tax credits, fuel tax credits, and the earned income tax credit.

Return preparer fraud and bogus fuel tax credits are identified by the IRS on its Web site as two of the 2009 "Dirty Dozen" tax scams.

Over the past decade, the Justice Department's Tax Division has obtained more than 430 injunctions to stop tax fraud promoters and dishonest tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site.