Queens Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Snakes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Federal Court Permanently Shuts Down New York Tax Preparer
A federal court in the Eastern District of New York has permanently enjoined a tax return preparer and her Brooklyn-based business from preparing federal tax returns for others and from owning, operating, or working for any tax return preparation business in the future.

The civil complaint filed in the case alleged that Melida Portorreal, through her tax return preparation company, International Travel Multi & Tax Corp., prepared fraudulent federal income tax returns for others. According to the complaint, Portorreal prepared and filed fraudulent federal tax returns for others that included the following schemes:

reporting false filing statuses, including, in at least one instance, using one customer’s name and social security number to qualify another customer for Head of Household filing status without either customer’s knowledge or consent;
fabricating erroneous itemized d..

A federal grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida, returned an indictment charging a Florida man with 10 counts of sex trafficking.