In July,, Placencia pleaded guilty plea as to three of the counts. 2009. In a plea agreement, he also admitted the inflated mortgage interest deductions cost the government nearly $8 million in lost taxes.
California Tax Preparer Shut Down
A California tax preparer has been permanently barred from preparing federal tax returns for others. Mario Placencia of Alhambra Calif., who conducted business as MP Accounting Services of Montebello, Calif., agreed to a civil injunction order that also required him to contact customers who paid him to prepare returns since Jan. 1, 2003 and inform them of his status.
Placencia was indicted in April on 61 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false income tax returns, as well as one count of corruptly obstructing and impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws. The Justice Department alleged that Placencia prepared returns that had false or inflated expenses and fabricated reports about his clients' home-mortgage-interest payments.