GREELEY, Colo.—A judge has imposed a temporary freeze on a Weld County investigation that used federal income tax records seized from a tax preparer to prosecute illegal immigrants on identity theft charges.
District Court Judge James Hiatt on Tuesday ordered all paper and electronic records seized from Amalia’s Translation and Tax Service in Greeley be handed over to court officials by Friday.
Hiatt says the court will keep the documents until he makes a ruling on April 13 in an American Civil Liberties lawsuit challenging the investigation.
The ACLU sued the Weld County district attorney and sheriff, saying the seizure of the tax records was violation of taxpayers’ legal privacy rights.
The DA and sheriff have defended their investigation.
