Feds accuse NYC tax preparer of fraud after 96% of clients get refund
A Bronx tax preparer has been accused of filing dozens of fraudulent returns after 94 to 96 percent of her clients were issued refunds for six straight years.
Kaelima Melendez, 48, has been working at her mother’s business, Tax Hub on Southern Boulevard, since 2010, preparing people’s annual tax returns for between $80 and $150 per client, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that seeks an injunction barring her from preparing returns.
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The business was recently renamed Elba’s Tax Service, according to online records. The Post visited the address Friday, but found a shuttered storefront.
The high school graduate allegedly committed fraud to get customers big refunds they weren’t entitled to, the government contends. Melendez has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing; the lawsuit against her is a civil matter.
Between 2016 to 2021, 94 to 96% of the returns Melendez prepared received a refund. The complaint alleges she invented dependents, social security numbers, heads of household, expenses, and entire streams of income, to get her customers tens of thousands of dollars in refund checks.
“For tax processing years 2016 to 2021, the vast majority of tax returns that Melendez prepared and filed included a request for a tax refund,” reads the government’s complaint.
The Internal Revenue Service audited 119 returns Melendez had prepared between 2014 and 2020, finding 111 of her clients actually owed an average of $4,841 per return.
“By including fabricated and inflated items on her customers’ federal tax returns, Melendez caused the customers’ tax liabilities to be reduced and in many cases, caused them to receive tax refunds to which they were not lawfully entitled,” the complaint alleges, noting she’s likely to reoffend, and should be “permanently” prohibited “from preparing or filing federal tax returns for others.”
The filing further claims Melendez used other accountants’ Electronic Filing Identification Numbers, as Tax Hub never had one.
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