T. Michael Haney

[Demosthenes]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011 (202) 514-2007
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

FEDERAL COURT BARS NORTH GEORGIA MAN
FROM PROMOTING FORM 1099-OID TAX SCHEME

WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred Atlanta-area financial planner T. Michael Haney from promoting the use of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 1099-OID to support false tax withholdings, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Haney consented, was signed by Judge Clarence Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

The government complaint alleged that Haney advised his customers to prepare false IRS forms, such as Form 1099-OID, to request fraudulent refunds based on phony claims of large income tax withholding. According to the complaint, Haney’s customers have submitted fraudulent refund claims of more than $3.5 million. The court order requires Haney to provide the government with a list of all persons to whom he sold his “OID” program since Jan. 1, 2007, and to provide them with a copy of the injunction order.

Claiming bogus tax refunds based on false Forms 1099-OID is identified by the IRS as one of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams that taxpayers are urged to avoid. Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent tax returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.