Maryland Cracks Down On Tax Fraud

Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The Maryland Comptroller’s office is cracking down on tax preparers who file fraudulent returns.

“We just see a continuing stream of false tax refund requests coming into our office,” said Comproller Peter Franchot.

More than a dozen tax preparers have been suspended for filing fraudulent returns.

Franchot said the good news is most false returns are detected with algorithms, and refunds are never sent out.

“The problem is not so much sending out tax refunds to criminals. The problem is that we haven’t been able to arrest some of these criminals,” Franchot said.

As soon as the state cracks down on the tax preparers, Franchot said they will get tens of thousands fewer fraudulent returns.

After they nab the tax preparers filing for tax refunds they aren’t entitled to, Franchot said they’ll go after individuals filing fraudulent returns.