Recent significant developments in tax preparer investigations.

• Position: National

Most tax return preparers are professional and honest but the IRS is aggressively addressing those who are not. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has obtained almost 200 injunctions against scheme promoters and abusive preparers.

Some recent examples of tax fraud cases include:

* The DOJ filed suit to stop a Texas man from preparing so-called "zero" income tax returns. The civil injunction lawsuit alleges he claims his customers are not subject to federal income taxes because they are citizens of their states, not U.S. citizens.

* A federal court permanently barred the last of three California men from acting as an income tax return preparer. The suit against them...