The owner of a Bay Area tax preparation business has been accused of swindling the government out of $697,000 through tax fraud.
A federal complaint issued by U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of California and the IRS charged Traci Austin, of Brentwood, with aiding and assisting in the preparation of at least 42 fraudulent tax returns.
Austin allegedly spent her career fraudulently reducing her clients' taxable income and tax liability, thereby resulting in larger refunds for the client and higher return preparation fee income for Austin. She also allegedly hosted a "Tax School" where she taught students how to fraudulently manipulate tax returns at a fee of $200 per person.
In one instance, Austin created a fictitious dog grooming business for a client, created a fictitious profit and loss statement and instructed the client to print out photos of dogs to support the idea of her fictitious business, the complaint stated.
In a review of Austin Financial and Investments, an upset potential client detailed how Austin "does way too much to make a buck and has no problem lying to clients."
If convicted, Austin faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
