Comptroller Expands Liberty Tax Probe, Suspends Return Acceptance From 16 More Locations

Comptroller Peter Franchot on Tuesday expanded an investigation into possibly fraudulent returns filed electronically from Liberty Tax Services locations.

Last week, he suspended acceptance of electronic returns from seven Liberty franchisees. On Tuesday, he expanded that order to 16 more Liberty locations and four other preparation sites. The Liberty locations affected:

11262 Georgia Ave., Wheaton

200 N. Highland Ave., Baltimore

201 Back River Neck Road, Middle River

2039 W. Pratt St., Baltimore

2201 N. Charles St., Baltimore

2927 Emmorton Road, Abingdon

312 S. Broadway, Baltimore

343 Belair Road, Baltimore

3414 Eastern Ave., Baltimore

3427 Dundalk Ave., Dundalk

435 C Eastern Blvd., Essex

4422 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore

6518 B Reisterstown Road, Baltimore

7305 York Road, Towson

7565 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie

8020 New Hampshire Ave., Langley Park

The four other tax preparation offices added to the probe:

EB Tax Services, 1809 Pennsylvania Ave. & 2322 Monument St., Baltimore

B & B Tax Services, 4707 Harford Road, Ste. B, Baltimore

DE Brown, 36B E25th St., Baltimore

What made the suspicious returns stand out? Taxpayers would report business income despite not owning a business. Refund amounts requested were much higher than previous years. Business expenses weren't documented. Dependents were claimed when the taxpayers didn't provide the required minimum 50 percent support. Some taxpayers would inflate wages and withhold income information.

Franchot's office advises taxpayers to review their returns and be suspicious if a tax preparer deducts fees from the refund to be deposited into the preparer's account; does not sign the return; or failes to include the preparer's taxpayer identification number. Anyone suspecting fraud is asked to report it to the comptroller at 1-800-MD-TAXES or 410-26-7980.