CPA Sues Craigslist over Disparaging Ads

Leo Kehoe, a CPA in Whitestone, N.Y., has filed a $4 million lawsuit over a pair of advertisements on the Web site Craigslist that called him a “crook.”

The anonymously placed ads were posted March 5, according to the New York Post. One ad said, “CPA FRAUD ALERT! (BEWARE OF CROOK) Watch out for this fraudulent scumbag! … He will botch up your tax returns and forget to submit them. He has been associated with TAX EVATION [sic] and falsifying records … Warn everyone you know.”

Kehoe, 43, filed suit, claiming damages of $1 million each on two counts against Craigslist and two counts against the anonymous person, referred to as “Jane Doe,” who placed the ads. The suit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, said the accountant has “suffered great pain and anguish and has been irreparably injured in his good names,” according to the New York Daily News.

Kehoe has been a New York-licensed CPA since 1991, according to the Post, and there have been no disciplinary actions against him.

The Gothamist blog noted that the Craigslist ads have since been taken down and replaced with ads touting him as an “excellent CPA,” and saying, “Leo Kehoe is a great CPA. He charged me a lower fee than what I had payed [sic] with someone else and he did a much better job.” Another new ad compares him to a hit Broadway show. “Leo Kehoe: Much better than Cats. I'm going to see him again and again.”

Kehoe declined to comment to WebCPA on the lawsuit.