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You don't need a go-between to pay your taxes

March 10, 2010

A California tax preparer steals from his clients in a way as lame as it is sleazy:

David Canales, 53, faces up to 25 years in prison at a sentencing hearing set for May 24. He was indicted on 18 counts of fraud and tax evasion in August 2009.
Between 2001 and 2008, Canales told his clients at Executive Management Services they owed money to the Internal Revenue Service and/or California’s Franchise Tax Board. He told them to write the checks to the initials IRS or FTB, officials said.

Canales had bank accounts under the names of two companies he founded that used the initials IRS and FTB. Instead of routing the money — more than $1 million — to the appropriate agencies to satisfy his clients' taxes, Canales admitted he deposited the money into his accounts, officials said. He then either filed a false tax return showing his clients owed little or no money in taxes or failed to pay them, official said.

A legitimate preparer will either e-file your returns and use direct debit to the tax agenceies to pay your tax, or he will present you paper returns for you to mail. If the preparer insists on getting checks from you to submit to the tax agencies, that's not normal.

Tags: Preparers.scams.