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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With income tax season in full swing, Broward County, Fla., Sheriff Al Lamberti is fighting back against identity theft through code enforcement.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Oakland Park recently became aware of several temporary tax service providers opening within the city. With identity theft on the rise, they began investigating the legitimacy of several businesses providing income tax preparation services.
According to a prepared release, approximately three dozen tax service providers have opened since the start of the 2012 income tax season. Investigators found that many of these temporary businesses did not possess the proper business licenses required to open shop.
Officials say many are operating illegally and possibly contributing to the growing number of identity theft cases in South Florida. They believe some illegitimate tax preparers are taking customer information and using it to either file phony tax returns or selling the information to others.
In the past two weeks, sheriff’s deputies in Oakland Park, the city fire marshal, and code enforcement officers have conducted physical inspections of 16 tax return provider businesses.
“Identity theft has reached such an epidemic level, it’s out of control,” said Sgt. Patrick Murray, the investigator who oversaw last week’s crackdown. “We believe some of these businesses play a role in that epidemic.”
Tax return preparers need a business tax license from the city and county in which they operate, as well as a preparer tax identification number. While many businesses operate legitimately, several of the businesses recently inspected were found to be operating illegally.
Having found numerous violations of the tax preparer requirements, in addition to working without proper licensing or permits, several arrests were made. Additional sign and fire code violations were cited by sheriff’s investigators.
“Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the country. We will not stand by and let temporary businesses operate unchecked while trusting victims put themselves at risk for identity theft,” Sheriff Lamberti told KSL. “I’m happy to stand arm-in-arm with the City of Oakland Park against these devious criminals.”
Lamberti, a 34-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, is best known for fighting back against “quality of life” crimes. From the theft of copper wiring and tubing from air conditioning units, to the theft of Sunday newspapers for their grocery coupons, to shutting down illegal pill mills, he is now cracking down on illegitimate tax preparation services.
Officials expect more offices to open as the April 17 tax deadline approaches. The traditional deadline — April 15 — falls on a Sunday this year. As the following day is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia, taxpayers have two extra days to file.
“The community should be careful before giving personal information such as social security numbers and bank documents to possibly unscrupulous tax workers,” concluded John Bukata, the sheriff's office Oakland Park district chief. “Most of these tax offices close immediately after tax season and customers are left without knowing who filed their taxes or how to reach them with complaints.”
The Internal Revenue Service said it expects to receive more than 144 million individual tax returns this year. To learn more about identity theft or tax scams, please visit www.irs.gov.
Consumers who believe they have been victimized should also visit the Federal Trade Commission's website at http://www.OnGuardOnline.gov. The IRS is one of the site sponsors.
William E. Lewis Jr. is a regular contributor to KSL and host of "The Credit Report with Bill Lewis" on AM 740 WSBR in South Florida.
