The owner of a tax preparation firm that operations locations in Alabama and Georgia has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to defraud the United States and filing false tax returns. Bruce King, who owns Premier Tax, is one of nine people associated with Premier Tax to have been convicted of crimes involving phony returns. On Thursday, Vonecia Orum, a preparer who worked at the company, pleaded guilty to delivering false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service.

Bruce Thomspon, CPA and CFP, has been named as a tax partner in the Springfield, Ill., office of Sikich. Thompson was previously director of tax services for McGladrey, focused on providing businesses and individuals with tax compliance and consulting services, estate and gift planning,and general business consulting to owner-managed companies.

Instant Tax Service, which claims to be the fourth-largest tax preparation chain, has consented to a preliminary injunction that bars it from preparing false returns or offering phony loans. A trial on the government's effort to shut down the operation is scheduled to begin on May 20 in Dayton, Ohio.