FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, (202) 514-2007

2005 TDD (202) 514-1888
WWW.USDOJ.GOV

FEDERAL JUDGE IN VIRGINIA

PERMANENTLY BARS NORFOLK
MAN
FROM PREPARING FEDERAL TAX
RETURNS FOR OTHERS
Hampton Roads-Area Return Preparer Uses
Frivolous Arguments to Claim Deductions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that a federal
court has barred Anthony McBryde of Norfolk, Virginia from preparing federal
income tax returns for others. The permanent injunction, to which McBryde
consented, was entered by Judge Walter D. Kelley, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Virginia. In connection with the permanent injunction, the
court found that McBryde prepared “erroneous federal tax returns claiming frivolous
deductions on behalf of clients.” McBryde previously produced his customer list to
the government as required by an earlier order in the case.

According to court filings, McBryde is a City of Norfolk code inspector who

prepares for customers federal income tax returns that improperly eliminate or
reduce customers’ reported taxable income. Prior to a court order enjoining him,
McBryde prepared at least 187 returns containing what he calls a “claim of right”
deduction. He also advises his clients to claim deductions for non-deductible
personal expenses, such as residential gas and electricity bills. The government’s
complaint alleges that McBryde prepares returns in the Hampton Roads area-
including Norfolk, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach-charging
customers a flat rate of approximately $60 to $130 per return plus a percentage of
any tax refund they received.

“People who prepare fraudulent returns for their customers are not only defrauding
the federal treasury, but also exposing their customers to potentially severe civil and
criminal penalties,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the
Justice Department’s Tax Division. “The Justice Department is working diligently
with the IRS to put a stop to their activities.”

More information about this case is available at . This suit is part of an ongoing
Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service crackdown on preparers of false
and fraudulent tax returns. More information about these cases is available at The
“claim of right” doctrine is number five on the IRS’s 2005 list of the “Dirty Dozen”
tax scams, the complete list of which is available at . More information about the
Tax Division is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/index.html.

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