2 accused of costing feds millions in tax funds

FLORENCE — Two South Carolina women have been accused of costing the federal government millions of dollars by preparing fraudulent tax returns.

Federal prosecutors this week asked a federal judge in Florence to permanently bar Susann Allen and Rachel D. Watson from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

Prosecutors say Allen and Watson have worked at several different tax businesses, understating income tax liabilities and overstating refunds. The government says they made up businesses, business income and dependents and either lied about how big deductions should be or made them up entirely.

The Internal Revenue Service says its agents found issues in dozens of returns prepared by the women. No criminal charges have been filed against Allen and Watson, and it wasn’t known if they had attorneys.