‘Tax lady’ Roni Deutch says lawsuit is political move by Calif. governor candidate Jerry Brown
By APTuesday, August 24, 2010
‘Tax lady’ Roni Deutch says lawsuit is political
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — “Tax Lady” Roni Deutch says California Attorney General Jerry Brown is engaging in election year politics by filing a lawsuit accusing her law firm of false advertising and misleading consumers.
Deutch said in a statement Tuesday that she will fight the $34 million lawsuit filed a day earlier in Sacramento County Superior Court by Brown, the Democrats’ nominee for governor.
She says her firm has saved thousands of people tens of millions of dollars through negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service over nearly 20 years.
The suit accuses her of vastly overstating the number of delinquent taxpayers she has helped. The suit also alleges she ran up clients’ fees through false billings.
Brown spokeswoman Christine Gasparac says the lawsuit is backed by evidence gathered during a monthslong investigation.
