A federal court in the Northern District of Illinois has issued a permanent injunction against tax preparer Michael Joseph Davenport and his firm, My Unity Tax Financial & Tax Preparation LLC, prohibiting them from preparing federal tax returns for clients. Davenport is also prohibited from owning or operating any tax return preparation businesses in the future, an agreement reached by both him and his company.
The civil complaint filed in this case alleges that Davenport and My Unity Tax submitted false and fraudulent tax returns with the intention of lowering customers’ tax liabilities or securing unwarranted tax refunds. The complaint outlines instances where they reported fictitious businesses, minimal or nonexistent income, and fabricated expenses to unlawfully decrease taxable income. Many of the reported businesses were found to be nonexistent.
Additionally, the complaint claims that Davenport, despite having a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) issued by the IRS, acted as a “ghost preparer.” This involved not signing the customers’ tax returns and failing to identify himself as the paid preparer. Furthermore, the government has alleged that Davenport and My Unity Tax improperly utilized software designed for personal use instead of professional use to prepare clients’ tax returns, which created the illusion that clients had filed their returns independently.
The announcement of this significant legal action underscores the importance of compliance and ethical practices in the tax preparation industry.
