March 11th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

As part of his continued efforts to combat tax fraud and identity theft, Comptroller Peter Franchot announces today that the agency has stopped processing electronic tax returns from 24 tax preparers at locations in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. The immediate suspensions were due to a high volume of questionable returns received. During the 2018 tax filing season, 74 tax preparers at 78 locations were flagged. Since Calendar Year 2016, 215 tax preparation firms at 228 locations have been suspended due to highly-suspicious tax returns. The complete list of previously blocked preparers is available online at www.marylandtaxes.gov .

“Our Questionable Returns Detection Team vigilantly monitors tax filings and is constantly keeping a watchful eye for unscrupulous preparers who submit false returns, causing financial harm to individual filers and their families and to the State of Maryland's coffers. Blocking these swindlers and protecting hardworking Maryland taxpayers is the agency’s top priority each tax season,” said Comptroller Peter Franchot. 

The Comptroller's nationally recognized fraud unit uses state-of-the-art technology that detects suspicious returns. The unit then issues notifications to the identified fraudulent preparers. The agency refers the list of tax preparers to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, which will prioritize the cases to be prosecuted  after thorough investigations by agents with the Comptroller's Field Enforcement Division. A review process provides an opportunity for blocked preparers to have their filing privileges restored.