After 23 years in business a buyer bought us out. During those 23 years we had a CPA named Harold (not his real name). We paid him to do our Quarterly Tax Reports and Federal Tax Returns. He also did our State Income Tax Returns as Oklahoma had a State Income Tax.
To close the business out was more involved and the charges were much greater as we expected. We used our same CPA to close the business. We stayed with that same CPA the year after we got out to file our personal forms.
The next year’s return was a simple return, although he charged us four times as much. We questioned the oversight and he denied any wrongdoing. After paying him, we elected to leave his firm because he couldn’t justify his actions.
After picking up our second return the following week I realized that he made a huge error on our State Return. I contacted him and he said he would have to file an amended return. He said he would cover all legal expenses to correct it.
The error triggered a red flag in our return with the state. The error was in our favor, but it took over two years of litigation to resolve the matter. Within the two years we had many demands to pay over $10,000 for past due taxes, interest, and penalties from the Oklahoma Tax Agency. Our credit reports showed a tax lien against us. Our credit was ruined! We received weekly letters from scam agencies demanding money with threats.
I had many conversations with his CPA’s tax attorney. One day in the mail I received a bill from his tax attorney for over $12,000 for legal fees. I immediately called him and told him his bill was extremely high, and I told him I would be in touch with my previous CPA who hired him. I never received another letter or call from his attorney. The state corrected the errors and our credit was restored. I feel that the money that Harold had to pay his attorney was over $12,000.
He did us wrong and it ended up costing him a lot of money, stress, and grief. To some what goes around will come back around. This could be called Karma.
Copyright © 2026 Marsha Luke – Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither retyped nor edited.