(WHAS11) - Thousands of tax records and computers from a non-profit are now in the hands of the I.R.S.
Agents descended on four tax preparation offices in Louisville and Sellersburg, IN.
WHAS11 News hasn’t been able to see the official search warrant, because it is sealed, but a public information officer for the Internal Revenue Service has confirmed that agents performed a raid on offices owned by a non-profit corporation.
It is a non-profit that primarily serves lower-income Latino patrons.
In a non-descript storefront on poplar level road, just under a faded sign that reads "jus teez" was a thriving non-profit tax preparation business.
Despite being open less than two months, having no listing in the phone book or even anything outside identifying the name of the corporation, there was a seemingly endless stream of customers.
“Extremely busy,” said a woman who works nearby who doesn’t want to be identified. “It seemed like they would be busy from the early morning until evening, even late at night.”
She says all the customers had one thing in common.
“It was only people of Hispanic origin, really,” said the worker.
But Thursday, a different group of visitors arrived. They were I.R.S. criminal investigators.
“There was about seven or eight unmarked cars that pulled up in the parking lot that morning,” the witness said.
Another merchant, S.A. Alsussaiaawa, had a bird's eye view from his store across the parking lot.
“There was a lot going on inside and nobody could go inside,” he said, describing the raid as lasting hours.
Files, computers and other evidence were hauled out into waiting S.U.V.s.
The tax preparation office is one of four branches of My Community Tax Service Corporation, a non-profit corporation formed in 2007.
Its stated purpose was to provide tax preparation service to low income residents.
WHAS11 talked to the corporation's president, Armando Gonzalez on Friday.
While he didn't want to do an on camera interview, he confirmed that all four offices of his non-profit were raided this week.
Gonzalez says he suspects they were looking for evidence of fraud, but had not been given additional information.
The other locations of the business, all of which have been closed, are on South Third Street, on Preston Highway and in Sellersburg, IN.
No one has been charged with any crime related to the raid.
