The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida has permanently barred Juan Humberto Garcia and his tax preparation business, The Tax Master of BVL, Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others and ordered them to pay $558,520. The court also barred Marcos Yariel Figueroa from preparing federal tax returns for others for two years.
The defendants stipulated to the injunction following the court’s entry of a preliminary injunction against them on February 13, 2026. In granting the preliminary injunction, the court primarily relied on testimony from more than a dozen customers who stated that deductions and expenses reported on their returns had not been incurred by them and were claimed without their knowledge. In addition to finding strong proof that the Defendants fabricated deductions and losses, the court determined that the government would face irreparable harm absent an injunction. The court noted in this regard that the Defendants continued to prepare fraudulent returns even after they were served with a copy of the government’s complaint.
In granting the parties’ requests for injunctive relief and disgorgement, the court adopted the parties’ stipulations and permanently barred Garcia and The Tax Master of BVL, Inc. from preparing and filing tax returns for others, working for or having an ownership stake in any tax return preparation business, advising anyone about the preparation of a tax return, maintaining a PTIN or EFIN, and transferring customer lists or customer information. Garcia also must permanently close all tax preparation stores that he owns directly or indirectly.
The court’s injunction against Figueroa bars Figueroa from preparing returns for others for two years and requires Figueroa to successfully complete the IRS Annual Filing Season Program and provide proof of completion to the United States before he may resume preparing tax returns for others.
The court also entered an order of disgorgement against Garcia and The Tax Master of BVL, Inc. in the amount of $558,520, representing tax preparation fees received from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2024, for preparing returns that contained false or fraudulent claims, deductions, credits, income, expenses, or other information that resulted in the understatement of their customers’ federal income tax liabilities.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Wu of the Civil Division’s Tax Litigation Branch made the announcement. Tax Litigation Branch attorney Franklin Sandrea-Rivero handled this matter.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In the past decade, the Department of Justice has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website . An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page