money that landed in her client ’ s pockets . That “ creativity ” finally caught the attention of IRS and they snatched her up and tried her for each and every instance where she “ doctored ” someone ’ s taxes . She was found guilty . The IRS served notice that they were going to take a closer look at all of the taxes she prepared . Several customers who thought they danced away with extra cash free and clear , now might find themselves on the wrong side of the law . Remember that old saying , “ gas , grass or ass , nobody rides for free ”? Playing with the IRS is not the kind of ride anyone should leave to chance . They are like Rihanna in this instance- -they want their money . And you ’ d better have it .
Two professional Black women behind bars . Both situations hit close to home because I knew them ( Raine wasn ’ t my tax person . She owned another business that was literary related and that ’ s how I interacted with her ). They were good people that made bad judgments .
Now , let ’ s bring you to my experience and a mistake that could have landed me in the same place as Wendy and Raine . Because I own multiple businesses , getting my taxes done was become fairly expensive . A former friend referred me to a woman who would do taxes at a much lower rate than the guy who ’ d handling mine for nearly almost two decades . Because I keep an accounting spreadsheet and all of the tax items in a folder all year long , putting everything together to turn over to the tax people is never an issue . The process is pretty painless and I was always applauded by my tax guy for having everything broken down the way he liked . And I trusted him completely . I only wished he didn ’ t cost an arm , a leg , and a couple of toes .
Well , this new tax person , “ Elexa ” was definitely a different experience . I scanned and sent everything in so she could start the process with a note that I would make an appointment to come in to sit with her when they were done . Then I didn ’ t hear anything for a minute ( red flag ). So I followed up . Unfortunately , I had one heck of a time trying to get someone to answer her phone for me to schedule a time to come in . Red flag . Then when I finally reached someone , I found out that my taxes had already been e-filed with the IRS . Seriously ? Sent in without me laying eyes on it ? Without discussing what was done ? Without signing it ? Red flag . Red flag . Red flag .
Unlike my former tax guy who lived only a couple of miles away , this new spot was in a West Suburb . Drive-bys weren ’ t as easy and confirming when she ’ d actually be in the office became a major challenge because no one from her office , once again , was answering the phone or returning my messages .
I tried for a week to get on the horn with IRS and the wait times went way past my lunch time ( sometimes on hold for 55 minutes or so ). After a truckload of voicemails and emails to Elexa , I finally received a copy of what she sent in and saw that I was getting a refund that was a lot higher than normal . Another red flag . The IRS sent me a letter asking for a piece of documentation that had to do with tuition . No problem . I sent in a copy of my son ’ s tuition statement . I received yet another notice that they needed the same documentation that I believed I had already sent in . This time , I toughed it out and managed to reach someone at IRS who went over the taxes that were sent in . The agent pointed out that there was one piece of documentation missing . They wanted a 1098T that came from Kaplan University . One problem . One major problem . I have never attended Kaplan University .
This time I was on the horn trying to reach Elexa , to
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