American Tax Relief,
Nation's Worst Tax Resolution Firm,
Illegally Takes Money
From Client Bank Account
updated june 28 2006 (see below)
Of all the tax resolution firms in the country, there is absolutely none
worse than American Tax Relief, located at 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 900 in
Beverly Hills, CA. A second address may be
4801 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 220
Los Angeles,
CA
90010. It's also possible they could be at
10642 Santa Monica
Blvd., #301
Los Angeles, CA 90025. Frankly, we aren't certain exactly where they are located, but I
have investigators in the Los Angeles area working on this right now. Their phone numbers are 323.782.1115 & 323.782.3330. Their
fax numbers are 323.782.3338 and 323.782.3333. In my opinion, they are a criminal organization.
Earlier today (January 31, 2006), I learned that American Tax Relief
illegally drafted $2,750 from the bank account of a client in Georgia without
any legal authorization whatsoever. The client, who has now fired American Tax
Relief and has hired eTaxes.com; called and spoke with Steve Kitchen, the
American Tax Relief salesman who told the client that he gave authorization to
draft his account. That is a lie. In fact, we have absolute proof of the lie.
Our client has already filed a fraud report with the Catoosa County, Georgia
Sheriff and we'll soon be filing reports with the the Los Angeles County
District Attorney, the California Attorney General and the IRS Office of
Professional Responsibility concerning the illegal actions of Steve Kitchen and
American Tax Relief.
If you have been ripped off by Steve Kitchen and American Tax Relief, call
them at 323.782.3330 or fax them at 323.782.3333. In addition, Steve Kitchen,
who is nothing but a salesman, signs IRS Power of Attorney forms and illegally
contacts the IRS and gets confidential tax information from the IRS on these
clients. How do I know this occurs? Simple. I have a copy of a Power of Attorney
with Steve Kitchen's name on it and Steve Kitchen admitted to me that he calls
the IRS and gets confidential tax information from the IRS. Since he is not an
Enrolled Agent, CPA or Attorney, this is illegal. Another name of an unlicensed
salesman is Bob Hanna (or Hannah).
American Tax Relief advertises on TV and through postcards sent to
individuals against whom the IRS has filed Federal Tax Liens. American Tax
Relief uses several domains including americantaxrelief.com,
10save.com, 92save.com, 84save.com, 9save.com & 28save.com.
Their lying TV ad states "you have ONLY one
chance to settle with the IRS". More lies. In addition, they put the names of
unlicensed salespeople on their IRS Power of Attorney forms. These guys are pure
trash.
Their postcard solicitation is a lie. We recently read a postcard they
sent out which states, "The Congress has recently passed NEW laws, making it
easier to settle tax debts. We are now finding that many people who did not
previously qualify for tax relief can now take advantage of these NEW changes
and settle for much less." The only problem is that it isn't true.
There have been NO changes in the law that make it easier to get your IRS tax
debt settled. In fact, the IRS has made it far more difficult to get Offers in
Compromise cases accepted as noted elsewhere on this site.
According to the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau, American Tax Relief is so
bad that they give them a rating of "F".
The LABBB also says, "we
believe this company misrepresents their ability to negotiate settlements or
offers in compromise with the IRS. Many complainants state that they make
promises concerning their ability to negotiate these settlements when they have
no way of knowing whether or not they will be able to deliver on those
promises."
The LABBB states "Some
complainants allege unauthorized charge or bank account debits are made once
company representatives obtained their personal information." I'm no
attorney, but doesn't this sound like multiple felony counts?
American Tax Relief
posts on their web sites "as seen on CNN & MSNBC". Sorry, boys, but
running an ad doesn't qualify. They want you to believe they've been talked
about in a story which couldn't be further from the truth.
It's hard to tell who
the owner of this company is. The LABBB site states it is Joo Park, but that may
be incorrect. The California Secretary of State website shows that the business
is an LLC and the Agent for Service of Process is Joo Park with an address of
10642 Santa Monica
Blvd., #301
Los Angeles, CA 90025.
june
28 2006 update
We
learned today that the owner of American Tax Relief is Alex Hahn. Hahn is listed
on the LABBB website as a supervisor, but we confirmed the information
independently through a website which lists American Tax Relief as a payroll
client and Alex Hahn as the company owner.
Three weeks ago, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs sued
American Tax Relief. According to press reports, American
Tax Relief, was accused of sending junk mail with exaggerated promises and then
collecting large fees but not clearing its clients' tax debts.
Also, a New Jersey law firm,
Shabel &
DeNittis filed a class action suit against American Tax Relief claiming that ATR
collected hefty fees despite having no real chance of getting the large tax
debts reduced.
I've been speaking with a law firm
that wants California victims to contact them. If you are in California and have
been ripped off by American Tax Relief, please contact eTaxes.com and we'll pass
your information on to these attorneys. Of course, regardless of where you are
located, if American Tax Relief has robbed you and you still have a tax problem,
we'll be more than happy to take care of your problem and we'll cut our fee
substantially as well.