Former tax preparer arrested in fraud case

David Kihara

Friday, Sept. 9, 2005 | 9:59 a.m.

The U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday arrested a former tax preparer for not complying with a court order to turn over a list of clients in an investigation into alleged fraudulent tax returns.

The Marshals Service, acting on a bench warrant issued in June by U.S. District Judge James Mahan, arrested Jeffrey Dean Hubacek in Las Vegas, said Jaclyn Lesch, spokeswoman for the Justice Department.

Hubacek was previously ordered by the federal court to stop preparing income tax returns because of alleged fraud in at least 80 returns, amounting to more than $390,000 in under-reported taxes, according to court documents.

Hubacek will appear in federal court for a hearing on Sept. 16. He has not been found guilty of filing fraudulent tax forms yet, according to the Justice Department.

According to the Justice Department, Hubacek has not yet turned over a list of his clients names, mailing and e-mail addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers, as ordered by the court.

The government had previously filed a motion to hold Hubacek in contempt of court for failing to comply with the court order.

According to an order filed in February, Hubacek was fined $2,500 for each day he didn't comply with the order. If that fine exceeded $25,000, the authorities would have incarcerated him until he filed a certificate of compliance.

Hubacek could not be reached for comment on Thursday.