Judge Says Tax Lady Roni Deutch Can't Take Customer Fees
by
Nov 18th 2010 12:00PM
Updated Nov 18th 2010 1:14PM
Three months after California sued "Tax Lady" Roni Deutch for $34 million, a Sacramento Superior Court judge has ruled that she shouldn't accept any more customer fees.Deutch is accused of duping thousands of customers, promising on television ads that she could help people work with the Internal Revenue Service to solve their tax problems. She also appeared on various television shows, including NBC's Today Show, CNN and CNBC.
The Sacramento Bee reported that Judge Shellyanne Chang issued a tentative ruling Monday, telling the tax lawyer to stop accepting customer fees until her staff has fully reviewed their caseload. Deutch's lawyers say that means the end of business for Deutch, but Chang says that's not so.
"We've read the court's ruling and we look forward to discussing it in conjunction with our colleagues from the government with the court in the morning," Deutch's lawyer, James Banks, told the newspaper.
The lawsuit accuses Deutch and her firm of taking advantage of seniors and disabled consumers, telling them the firm had a success rate of 99%. But the lawsuit says that rate is actually 10%.