A Florida preparer must disgore $1 million after he agreed to be barred from preparing tax returns for others. Scott agreed to the order shutting him out of the business, but did not agree to any facts alleged in the civil complaint.
The Department of Justice brought the action in September 2014 alleging that Scott, formerly a franchisee of LBS Tax Services, targeted low-income customers with deceptive and misleading advertisements and used a variety of methods, such as claiming earned income and education credits clients were not entitled to, to boost refunds. He was also accused of charging exorbitant fees.
Scott also operated a tax preparation company called Neighborhood Tax Pros and Tax Giant with locations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.