Feds Indict One, File Six Civil Suits In Various States In Crack Down On Alleged 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Scams

From the U.S. Department Of Justice:

• The United States has filed six lawsuits in five states to stop tax return preparers from fraudulently claiming the first-time homebuyer tax credit and the earned-income tax credit, the Justice Department announced [].

• The filings of those civil injunction complaints coincided with the indictment of a Philadelphia man on criminal charges of fraudulently claiming the first-time homebuyer credit.(1) All of these actions are part of the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to halt tax scams involving false claims for tax credits and to prosecute those who fraudulently file tax returns containing those claims.

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For the DOJ press release, see Justice Department Announces Indictment and Six Lawsuits Targeting False Claims for First-time Homebuyer and Earned-income Tax Credits (Actions Highlight Continuing Nationwide Effort to Halt Tax Scams And Prosecute Fraudulent Tax-Return Preparers).

(1) From the press release:

• According to the indictment, Jonathan Brownlee of Philadelphia was charged with 16 counts of filing false federal income tax returns that contained fraudulent claims for the first-time-homebuyer credit. He allegedly obtained personal information about several individuals through false pretenses and used that information to make false claims for the credit to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), along with requests that refunds be deposited into bank accounts that he controlled or could access. Brownlee allegedly knew the individuals whose names he used were not entitled to the credit because they had neither purchased a home nor signed a contract to do so. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 80 years and a maximum fine of $4 million.