An Atlanta federal court has permanently barred two Jackson Hewitt franchise employees from preparing taxes for others.
Judge Clarence Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued a permanent injunction against Hileah Braxton and Tameka Donaldson of Smart Tax of Georgia, one of four Jackson Hewitt franchises sued by the Justice Department in early April over allegations of widespread fraud.
The other franchises were located in Chicago, Detroit and Raleigh-Durham.
The DOJ alleges that fraudulent tax preparation flourished at the franchises. Among the practices the government uncovered in the four cases were filing false tax returns claiming refunds based on phony W-2 forms, using fabricated businesses and business expenses on returns, wrongly claiming fuel tax credits for customers, and misusing the earned income tax credit.
