FBI wants 125 Jackson Hewitt sites closed for fraud

April 3, 2007

Atlanta, Georgia - The FBI Tuesday sought to shut down 125 Jackson Hewitt retail tax preparation sites in four cities, alleging "fraudulent tax return preparation is encouraged and flourishes" in those offices.

The FBI Tuesday sought to shut down 125 Jackson Hewitt retail tax preparation sites in four cities, alleging fraudulent tax return preparation is encouraged and flourishes in those offices.

The action could throw the fate of thousands of individual income tax returns into doubt, although officials said no offices are likely to be shut down before this month's tax filing deadline.

The civil injunctions filed by the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service name five corporations that operate Jackson Hewitt tax preparation franchises in Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and Raleigh-Durham. Their stores prepared and filed more than 105,000 federal income tax returns last year.

Officials estimated that fraudulent returns from these 125 offices -- often with substantial unjustified tax refunds -- have cost the federal treasury more than $70 million. They said a determination of what percentage of the tax returns were fraudulent will have to await further investigation.