George Thomas Gaines of Aurora and his companies, G&G Tax Service and American Benefits, have been permanently barred from preparing tax returns for others.
The civil injunction order, announced today by the U.S. Justice Department, alleged that Gaines and the companies prepared tax returns for customers that used fictitious businesses to claim false tax deductions and improper earned income tax credits.
According to the complaint filed by the Justice Department last November, the IRS identified 210 returns prepared by Gaines between 2004 and 2007 that contained understatements of customers’ tax liabilities.
A total of 218 returns were audited by the federal agency – meaning more than 96 percent of the audited returns prepared by Gaines during the period allegedly understated the customers’ tax liabilities.
The government alleged that the understatements resulted in a “tax harm” of more than $900,000, and that total lost revenue could be as high as $4 million.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
