IRS raids 6 tax preparer offices in St. Louis

April 05 — IRS agents raided six tax preparation businesses Friday morning, seizing computers and other documents.

Agents with the Criminal Investigation Division served search warrants on at least two locations of Tax King: 1811 Olive Street and 4318 North Grand Boulevard.

At two other Tax King locations in St. Louis, 1315 North Kingshighway and 4300 Natural Bridge Road, computers were missing from the Tax King desks and one file cabinet appeared to have been pried open when a reporter visited mid-morning on Friday.

The IRS also raided the offices at 900 North Grand Boulevard and 4541 North Kingshighway.

An advertisement boasts of 12 locations in the St. Louis area, including East St. Louis.

Representatives of Tax King, which promises the “Royal Treatment” and says it costs 20 percent to 30 percent less than other preparation companies, did not return messages seeking comment. A phone number for one location was busy; at another the voice mailbox was full.

The raids and document seizures could leave procrastinating Tax King customers in the lurch.

IRS spokesman John Nunez, reached Friday by phone, would only say that agents were “out and about,” but would not confirm the targets of the raids or the nature of the investigation.

At each location, the Tax King operation seemed to consist of desks set up in the lobby of a check cashing business.

At the 4318 North Grand location, a copy of the search warrant was left on a desk, along with an agent’s business card. An employee of the check cashing business snatched up the documents and kicked out a Post-Dispatch reporter. Another company representative declined to comment on Tax King or their relationship to the company.

At the 1315 North Kingshighway location, a check cashing employee said that Tax King employees had not been there for several days, as tax season was “winding down.”

In recent months, federal prosecutors in Missouri and Illinois have been prosecuting cases involving tax preparation businesses who filed fraudulent returns to boost refunds.

Jan Diltz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, declined to comment on the raids.

—————