Koster
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a national tax preparer for allegedly failing to return refunds to taxpayers and misrepresenting its fees for tax preparation.
Koster filed lawsuits against MoneyCo USA and two of its St. Louis County franchises - Randy Williams, doing business as MoneyCo USA, and Bedford-Benjamin Investments Company, doing business as MoneyCo USA.
The defendants allegedly violated multiple Missouri laws, including failure to distribute IRS tax refunds to consumers, failure to provide consumers with a copy of their tax returns and other documentation when services were provided, and creating a false impression that consumers' refunds would be directly deposited into the consumers' bank accounts.
In addition, the defendants allegedly concealed from consumers that their refunds would be deposited into MoneyCo's bank accounts, misrepresented the total fees that MoneyCo would charge consumers for filing and preparing their taxes, and charged consumers fees and filed their taxes without consent.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions to ensure that all tax refunds the defendants receive are distributed to tax payers within 48 hours of receipt, and full restitution for consumers who have been harmed by the defendants.