WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed suit seeking to bar Phillip M. Ballard of Fort Worth, Texas, from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The civil injunction lawsuit, filed today in Dallas, alleges that Ballard, who uses the business name Asset & IRS Shield Inc., has repeatedly prepared tax returns that show nothing but zeroes on all lines. Ballard allegedly claims that his customers are not subject to federal income taxes because they are citizens of their states, not United States citizens.
According to the complaint, Ballard also sells what he calls “insurance” that promises to protect customers from taxes, penalties, and interest. The complaint requests that Ballard be barred from selling the insurance scheme for which he allegedly charges from $4,500 to $8,000. The complaint also alleges that Ballard falsely claims to be an attorney.
The lawsuit also asks the court to order Ballard to stop representing his customers before the IRS and to provide a list of names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and Social Security numbers of his customers.
“Zero return” scams are on the IRS’s annual list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams, which can be found at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154293,00.html.
Since 2001, the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 190 tax-fraud promoters and fraudulent return preparers. More information about the Justice Department’s efforts against tax scam promoters can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. Information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
###
06-461