10/10/2025
Recent IRS Enforcement Against Ghost Tax Preparers
The IRS remains committed to protecting taxpayers by rigorously pursuing and prosecuting unethical or fraudulent tax preparers. Recent enforcement actions highlight how the IRS is holding fraudulent tax preparers accountable and are a critical part of maintaining integrity and public trust in the tax system. The IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting investigations into financial crimes, including tax fraud. The IRS-CI investigated the following scheme, which generated over $1 million in fraudulent tax refunds.
In August 2025, a tax preparer, who operated a “ghost” tax preparation business in Augusta, GA, was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $541,912 in restitution for defrauding the IRS. She operated as a “ghost” preparer because she failed to identify herself as a paid preparer on the tax returns that she prepared and filed for her clients. As a “ghost” preparer, the tax preparer fabricated income to qualify her clients for tax credits, claimed fake deductions to boost the size of the refund, and charged clients a fee based on a percentage of the tax refund.
“Not signing off on a tax return is just one of the signs someone is acting as a ghost preparer,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS CI, Atlanta Field Office. “Today’s sentencing is an example of IRS Criminal Investigation special agents working diligently to protect taxpayers from dishonest tax preparers and a notification to the public of just one scheme utilized by ghost tax preparers.”
