Florida tax preparer barred from business, ordered to pay $558K

A federal court has permanently barred a tax preparer and his business from preparing tax returns for others and ordered them to pay $558,520. Another preparer was barred for two years.The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida barred Juan Humberto Garcia and The Tax Master of BVL Inc. after they stipulated to an injunction. The court had issued a preliminary injunction Feb. 13, 2026, citing testimony from more than a dozen customers who said their returns included deductions and expenses they had not incurred and did not know about.The court also found the defendants continued preparing returns after being served with the government’s complaint.The permanent injunction bars Garcia from preparing or filing returns for others, working for or owning a tax preparation business, advising others on tax returns, maintaining a preparer tax identification number or electronic filing identification number, or transferring customer information. He also must close any tax preparat