Opinion ID: 4843446
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 2011 IRS Civil Audit of IED

Text: About six months after Jeune’s completion of her supervised-release period, trouble hit Investment Equity. In August 2011, the IRS began a civil audit of the firm for its delinquent business and corporate tax filings. The investigation originated in New York because Jeune’s uncle, Lionnel Meronne, lived there and was listed as Investment Equity’s president in its 2011 articles of incorporation. But Meronne informed the IRS that he did not prepare taxes or own Investment Equity located in Florida; his niece Jeune did. So Florida-based IRS Auditor Ava-Marie Schmergel audited Investment Equity to verify the accuracy of business tax returns, collect money owed for tax liabilities, and impose any civil penalties. As Investment Equity’s registered agent, Jeune initially responded on the company’s behalf to the IRS’s civil audit inquiries and request for documents.2 2 Between 2009 and 2011, Jeune signed on behalf of Investment Equity for corporate and partnership income-tax returns. On corporate tax returns, she listed herself and her uncle as the “corporate representatives” of Investment Equity. On partnership income-tax returns, she listed herself as a “domestic partner” of Investment Equity. 7 USCA11 Case: 19-13018 Date Filed: 08/23/2021 Page: 8 of 65 During a phone call with Schmergel, Jeune explained that she managed and ran Investment Equity’s business, which prepared on average 200 tax returns per year. She stated that the business was a partnership in which she split ownership with her uncle Meronne. She also falsely claimed that she already provided the delinquent employment and income-tax returns to the IRS, but the IRS had proof that she had not. Schmergel soon uncovered tax returns indicating that Jeune’s ex-husband Voltaire worked as a tax preparer and obtained an EFIN to electronically file taxes at Investment Equity.3 Schmergel spoke with Jeune and Voltaire by phone to ask about the daily operations of the business, such as how fees were charged, who prepared the tax returns, how returns were prepared, and the type of tax-preparation software used. Over the course of these conversations, the explanations about Voltaire’s and Jeune’s roles at Investment Equity were inconsistent and contradictory. For instance, in January 2012, Voltaire spoke with Schmergel by phone and stated that he did not prepare any tax returns. A few days later, during another phone call, Voltaire changed his mind, claiming that he misunderstood Schmergel’s initial questions and that he did in fact prepare tax returns at Investment Equity. When 3 Voltaire and Jeune formally divorced on July 22, 2011, though they had been separated for years before that. 8 USCA11 Case: 19-13018 Date Filed: 08/23/2021 Page: 9 of 65 Schmergel followed up on his involvement, Voltaire could not answer basic questions, such as Investment Equity’s physical address, the digits of the EFIN and PTIN assigned to his name, and the type of tax-preparation software he used. Schmergel then met with Voltaire and Jeune at Investment Equity’s office, and both continued to maintain that Voltaire prepared tax returns for the business. They even signed affidavits attesting that Voltaire prepared tax-returns, ran the dayto-day operations, and accessed Investment Equity’s bank accounts. But as the interview progressed, Voltaire could provide only surface-level responses to the IRS auditors’ technical questions about Investment Equity’s operations and taxpreparation procedures. Although Jeune attempted to jump in and answer on Voltaire’s behalf, the auditors intervened and insisted that Voltaire answer. He could not. Perhaps the strongest indication that Voltaire couldn’t have professionally prepared tax returns for others was his admission to not reporting on his tax returns substantial cash payments he received from Investment Equity. The stories changed again, and Jeune finally admitted that she and her sister had prepared and transmitted tax returns at Investment Equity, and Voltaire had not prepared any returns. Jeune also revealed that many of her family members worked 9 USCA11 Case: 19-13018 Date Filed: 08/23/2021 Page: 10 of 65 for her at Investment Equity. 4 She claimed her brother George prepared taxes, even though none of the documents indicated that he did. After Schmergel informed Jeune and Voltaire about the consequences of committing perjury, Jeune prepared new affidavits for herself and Voltaire reflecting their true roles at Investment Equity, and they respectively signed them under penalty of perjury. Voltaire and Jeune stated in these affidavits that “MOST OF THE PAPER WORK DAY TO DAY . . . IS HAND[]LED BY . . . TAMARA JEUNE,” in response to the question, “WHO RUNS BUSINESS DAY-TO-DAY?” They also both attested that Jeune had access to the business’s bank accounts from 2008 through the “PRESENT,” as of the date of the affidavits (February 8, 2012). Schmergel also subpoenaed Investment Equity’s bank records, obtained tax documents filed by employees, reviewed EFINs and PTINs associated with the business, and cross-checked Information Returns Processing (“IRP”) System data, which is based on employers’ reporting of taxpayer income and wages, against the IRS’s internal databases, which are based on individual employees’ reported wages and earnings. Bank records revealed that Meronne and Jeune, as president and vice president, were authorized signers on Investment Equity’s SunTrust bank accounts 4 Later, when asked for Investment Equity’s payroll documents, Jeune listed nine or ten employees. That list included her brother George, her sister Dorothy, her mother Marie, and her uncle Meronne. 10 USCA11 Case: 19-13018 Date Filed: 08/23/2021 Page: 11 of 65 ending in “2027” and “1730.” Most of the checks withdrawn from the account bore what appeared to be Jeune’s signature. Schmergel also noticed that a substantial number of deposits into the bank accounts were labeled as “U.S. Treasury tax refunds” and included taxpayer names and Social Security numbers that did not belong to Meronne or Jeune. To determine Investment Equity’s true net income for business-tax liability, Schmergel performed a reconciliation of the Investment Equity bank records to reconcile the income coming in and the withdrawals going out. She learned that about a third of the total IRS tax refund amount deposited in 2009 was never redistributed to Investment Equity’s taxpayer clients that year, and two-thirds of the total IRS tax refund amount deposited in 2010 was never redistributed to taxpayer clients that year. Jeune could not provide Investment Equity’s receipts, invoices, and proof of distributed IRS refunds. Schmergel also reviewed a list of EFINS and PTINS associated with Investment Equity. The EFIN holders all were within Jeune’s inner circle—her exhusband Voltaire, her then-boyfriend Seymour Gordon, and her son Jacob. Voltaire admitted that he obtained an EFIN and PFIN for Jeune’s use. Because of EFIN misuse, Schmergel requested that the IRS terminate Voltaire’s EFIN on February 2, 2012. Soon after, Jeune called the IRS requesting that the EFIN be reinstated, but she was told to contact Schmergel directly. So 11 USCA11 Case: 19-13018 Date Filed: 08/23/2021 Page: 12 of 65 Voltaire called Schmergel and stated that he prepared tax returns, and he wanted his EFIN to be reinstated. After Voltaire had no luck, Jeune then called Schmergel to ask that she reinstate Voltaire’s EFIN. She declined. But that did not end Investment Equity’s filing of tax returns. During a visit to Investment Equity, Schmergel observed Jeune’s then-boyfriend Gordon applying for an EFIN on a computer. On a later visit, Schmergel noted that Gordon successfully obtained an EFIN. But taped to an office wall was a 2012 tax-product training certificate listing Jeune’s name and Gordon’s EFIN. Schmergel informed the IRS about the misuse of Gordon’s EFIN, and the IRS terminated it on September 7, 2012. Schmergel also observed in plain view on office desks at Investment Equity W-2s for 2010 and 2011 listing several company names, such as Steven and Steven Electric, Nickourts International, Chef Creole Cuisine, and Omass Transportation. These company names became significant in the criminal investigation, discussed below. At the conclusion of the audit in the summer of 2012, Gordon and Jeune were fined $30,000 for allowing U.S. Treasury checks to be deposited directly into Investment Equity’s bank account instead of taxpayer bank accounts. Schmergel then recommended to her advisers that Investment Equity be referred to the IRS criminal-investigation division.