The federal government is suing a St. Louis tax preparer after auditing 31 of more than 1,700 returns she filed for clients between 2000 and 2003. Investigators say all 31 returns had fictitious or inflated deductions, that led to refunds averaging 38-hundred dollars per return. The federal complaint file dagainst Ella Mae Peterson says investigators have found suspicious deductions in 63 other returns that have not been audited yet. The people who paid Peterson to do their taxes could be liable for 116-thousand dollars, plus interest and penalties if the courts uphold the IRS position.
