A man who worked as a tax preparer in Broward County has been ordered to close his business and is permanently barred from preparing or filing any federal tax returns as part of a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sunil Ramchandani, of Cooper City, through his business AHS Income Tax Services allegedly fabricated or had errors in the majority of the thousands of returns he filed in 2022 and 2023, totaling a tax loss of more than $10 million from returns he prepared in those years alone, according to the Department of Justice and the civil complaint.
The civil complaint, filed in January, alleged that Ramchandani’s company often did not tell customers their fees and would often give them a copy of their tax return that was different from the return that was filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Money from additional refunds was diverted into bank accounts Ramchandani controlled, rather than customers’ without them knowing, the complaint said.
Federal lawsuit alleges Broward tax preparer filed bogus returns
The IRS sent multiple warning letters to the company in 2011 and 2012 that its conduct was illegal, according to the complaint, but had “gone unheeded and have not deterred” the company. AHS Income Tax Services was assessed civil penalties totaling more than $120,000 in 2017 and 2019 for violations.
Ramchandani also allegedly prepared returns that claimed false or inflated residential energy credits, fuel tax credits, fabricated business loses and other deductions and credits, the DOJ said.
A U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida judge signed the permanent injunction against Ramchandani on Tuesday. It prohibits him and his business from preparing or helping to prepare federal tax returns, filing or helping to file federal tax returns, owning, operating or working for a tax return preparation business and from transferring or selling his customer lists, among other stipulations.
The DOJ said Ramchandani agreed to the injunction. If violated, he and the company may be subject to civil and criminal sanctions for contempt of court, according to the order.