February 23, 2016

The Justice Department announced that the owner of a St. Louis, Missouri, tax return preparation business was arrested on two counts of tax evasion. According to the indictment, from 2005 to 2011, Semere Tsehaye, 38, was the owner and operator of at least 20 Instant Tax Service franchise locations operating in Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri. Instant Tax Service was a brand name of ITS Financial LLC, a nationwide tax preparation business headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. During the years 2010 and 2011, Tsehaye is alleged to have generated fraudulent financial summaries that understated gross receipts by a total of approximately $506,000 in 2010 and $1.03 million in 2011. DOJ

Tagged in: Tax Fraud,