A federal court order has shut down a Beverly Hills company offering tax relief services after the Federal Trade Commission alleged that the national operation bilked 20,000 consumers out of $100 million by falsely claiming it could reduce people’s tax debts.
The FTC said Wednesday that the company, American Tax Relief, used TV, radio and Internet advertising to lure consumers by falsely claiming that it could settle their delinquent federal and state taxes for far less than they owed.
At the F.T.C.’s request, a federal district court judge in Chicago froze the assets of American Tax Relief and its owners on Sept. 24 and appointed a receiver to manage the company. The judge also approved a temporary restraining order prohibiting the company and its owners — Alexander Seung Hahn, who is on probation for an earlier marketing fraud case, and his wife, Joo Hyun Park, from making deceptive claims.
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