BBB warns about tax preparing ‘ghost companies’ stealing your money
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning about what they call “ghost companies.”
It says those businesses pop up during tax season and disappear after taking your money.
Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln found out one company has taken thousands of dollars from Georgians.
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Lincoln spoke with multiple clients who say this company operates solely on Facebook and doesn’t meet clients in person.
And by the time the IRS issues a refund, taxpayers are learning large portions of it are being directly deposited into the company’s account.
Tiffany Maddox and Joyneshia Miller say they felt heartbroken when they realized their tax refunds were short several thousand dollars.
“It put me in a situation where, like, I almost lost my apartment,” Miller said.
Maddox says when she came across an ad for Elite Tax Services LLC on Facebook, charging just $199, she thought it was legitimate.
“They have the IRS logo on it,” Maddox said.
The company advertises multi-thousand-dollar cash advances in a matter of seconds.
Simone Williams with the BBB says they started investigating Elite Tax Services LLC after Channel 2 Action News shared concerns from local taxpayers.
“If they’re promising you a large tax amount or they’re promising, ‘Oh, I could get it to you very fast, very quickly,’ that’s another red flag,” Williams said.
The BBB gave the company an “F” rating and is warning consumers to stay away.
Maddox says the company asked for her individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN).
“For a business, I thought that was kind of weird,” Maddox said.
The BBB says that’s a red flag.
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Legitimate tax preparation businesses are federally required to have a preparer taxpayer identification number, or PTIN, in order to file taxes.
“They should be very concerned because, without that, the IRS can’t track them,” Williams said.
The BBB found Elite Tax Services LLC is using the individual’s taxpayer identification number.
“They actually get the filer to sign off on those tax returns. So it looked like it was self-filed instead,” Maddox said.
Once the IRS issues a refund, the victims discover the funds were actually direct-deposited into the company’s account, not the customers.
“When I got the refund, I was actually missing $2,000,” Maddox said.
Maddox says she only received $4,000 after Elite Tax Services LLC told her she would get $6,000.
Miller says the same thing happened to her - only she was promised an $8,400 tax refund.
“[The] only refund I got was $4,000, so I’m like ‘What happened?’” Miller said.
Both women say after confronting the company they were ghosted.
“My number was blocked,” Miller said.
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The BBB says ghost companies open and close each tax season.
“They reopened under a different name, under a different address, under a different phone number,” Williams said.
Lincoln tried calling multiple numbers listed for the company without success.
Tax documents list a Cobb County office building as the address for Elite Tax Services LLC, but once inside, there was no office suite listed for the business.
“The property management that we spoke to said they haven’t been there for six months,” Williams said.
The IRS told Channel 2 that federal law prevents it from disclosing if it is investigating this company. But they did provide some consumer guidance.
The IRS recommends people thoroughly research the company first, review all personal details and direct deposit information, never sign a blank tax form, and never have any portion of your refund directly deposited into your tax preparer’s account.
“We trusted you with our information and you just basically stealing from us,” Miller said.
The BBB says if you got a lower refund than expected from this company, file a complaint with the BBB, the IRS, and the Secretary of State’s office.
Maddox filed a complaint with the IRS.
She recently received a letter saying the agency needs an additional 60 days to respond with what action it is taking on her account.
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