NORTH HIGHLANDS—
The Tax Lady's next commercial may go something like this: "Hi, I'm Roni Deutch and I'm being sued by the Attorney General."Attorney General Jerry Brown announced a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the self-described "Tax Lady" for "orchestrating a heartless scheme that swindled thousands of people facing serious and expensive tax collection problems with the IRS."
The Attorney General claims Deutch, who claims through late-night television advertisements that her firm can eliminate or reduce tax debts, can occasionally be the cause behind clients owing more to the IRS before seeking out her services.
"Sales agents claim Deutch's success rate in dealing with the IRS is as high as 99 percent," a press release distributed by the Attorney General's office read Monday. "But the percentage of clients whose tax bills Deutch actually reduces is a mere 10 percent."
The Attorney General also says Deutch often requests duplicates of forms over and over again, doubling her fees and increasing debts owed to the IRS due to a delay in payment.
The Attorney General is seeking $34 million in monetary damages from Deutch and her law firm with the hopes that the suit will "prevent Deutch from engaging in such unfair business practices and false advertising" and pay restitution to victims of "at least $33.9 million plus civil penalties."
Deutch has written several books about the tax process and the IRS, and has appeared as a tax expert on cable news and financial programs.
