Tax preparer shut down
Federal authorities went to court to shut down a city tax preparer on the day income-tax returns were due, alleging he filed fraudulent returns for several customers who claim a bogus tax credit based on slave reparations for African-Americans.
The government obtained a temporary restraining order yesterday against Kevin Hardy that bars him from preparing tax returns for others until a full hearing on a request for preliminary injunction can take place.
David Kelley, the U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District, announced yesterday that the government had obtained the restraining order in district court. Kelley said that Hardy, whose age and address were not available, has prepared an unknown number of false returns that claim a bogus tax credit based on the alleged entitlement of African-Americans to reparations for slavery, segregation, treatment as second-class citizens or separate-but-equal laws.
The government alleges that Hardy prepared income-tax returns that claimed the fraudulent credit even though he knew the credit had no basis in law.
The federal government began cracking down on such bogus claims in 2002 after the Internal Revenue Service mistakenly paid out more than $30 million in slave-reparations credits in 2000 and part of 2001.
The IRS said that more than 80,000 tax returns were filed in 2001 seeking nonexistent slavery tax credits totaling $2.7 billion.
That number dropped significantly in 2002 after the government stepped up scrutiny of tax returns and launched an ad campaign against scam artists who promised to secure tax credits for blacks.
A message left with a Kevin Hardy listed in the phone book as a Mount Vernon resident was not returned last night.
Federal authorities went to court to shut down a city tax preparer on the day income-tax returns were due, alleging he filed fraudulent returns for several customers who claim a bogus tax credit based on slave reparations for African-Americans.
The government obtained a temporary restraining order yesterday against Kevin Hardy that bars him from preparing tax returns for others until a full hearing on a request for preliminary injunction can take place.
David Kelley, the U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District, announced yesterday that the government had obtained the restraining order in district court. Kelley said that Hardy, whose age and address were not available, has prepared an unknown number of false returns that claim a bogus tax credit based on the alleged entitlement of African-Americans to reparations for slavery, segregation, treatment as second-class citizens or separate-but-equal laws.
The government alleges that Hardy prepared income-tax returns that claimed the fraudulent credit even though he knew the credit had no basis in law.
The federal government began cracking down on such bogus claims in 2002 after the Internal Revenue Service mistakenly paid out more than $30 million in slave-reparations credits in 2000 and part of 2001.
The IRS said that more than 80,000 tax returns were filed in 2001 seeking nonexistent slavery tax credits totaling $2.7 billion.
That number dropped significantly in 2002 after the government stepped up scrutiny of tax returns and launched an ad campaign against scam artists who promised to secure tax credits for blacks.
A message left with a Kevin Hardy listed in the phone book as a Mount Vernon resident was not returned last night.
