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American Tax Service Shut Down After FTC Lawsuit

Deceptive Practices, Impersonating the IRS, and Stealing Tens of Millions From Customers

As of November 21st, 2025, a federal court has issued a preliminary injunction that permanently shuts down the business operations of American Tax Services LLC and its related entities. According to the FTC’s complaint, the company misled consumers, impersonated government agencies, and failed to provide promised tax relief services. The preliminary injunction permanently halts all business operations of American Tax Service LLC and its related entities while the case proceeds. The FTC and the State of Nevada are seeking permanent bans that would prohibit the defendants from offering tax or debt relief services in the future.

Key takeaways

  • A federal court shut down American Tax Services in 2025 after an FTC and Nevada lawsuit.
  • The company's deceptive advertising and fraudulent practices caused millions in losses to consumers.
  • An American Tax Solutions-affiliated company was previously fined and banned from doing business in Wisconsin in 2022.
  • Former ATS clients may still need to resolve their tax problems – ATS often took customer payments but did nothing.
  • If you owe tax debt, you can find trustworthy help – but you need to know where to look.

Affiliated Companies Named in the Federal Case

The FTC and the State of Nevada named several related companies in their lawsuit, and the federal court’s preliminary injunction halted their business operations. These include:

  • ATS Tax Group
  • GetATaxLawyer.com LLC
  • TNT Holdings Group
  • TNT Services Group LLC
  • TNT Tax Associates
  • American Tax Solutions (a marketing name used in some filings)

These entities are currently barred from operating under the court’s preliminary injunction, and the FTC alleges that they engaged in deceptive practices.

The company took tens of millions of dollars from customers – and unfortunately, this is not uncommon in the tax relief industry. Nationwide tax firms are notorious for over-promising and underdelivering, and it's baked into their business models, featuring big marketing budgets, aggressive sales teams, and extremely limited tax pro support.

This post explains what happened. It also looks at what former ATS clients should do to resolve their tax cases and explains how to avoid these types of companies if you have tax problems. 

Table of contents

Overview of the American Tax Services Shutdown

In October 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against American Tax Service LLC. The FTC alleged that the company and its operators were: 

  • Impersonating the government
  • Making false claims to consumers
  • Not providing services that had been paid for
  • Refusing to provide refunds when services weren't provided

According to the FTC's news release about the case, American Tax Services "did little, if any, of the promised work and rarely, if ever, obtained the promised results."

The FTC and the State of Nevada sued American Tax Services in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The court issued a Temporary Restraint Order (TRO) to immediately stop operations at American Tax Services and its affiliates (including ATS Tax Group, GetaTaxLawyer.com LLC, TNT Holdings Group, and TNT Tax Associates).

The court appointed a Receiver to take control of the company's assets and operations. On November 21, 2025, the court entered a Preliminary Injunction Order to freeze the company's assets, permanently shut down its operations, and make the Receivership permanent. As of this writing, the case is still pending and no final judgment has been issued against the individual defendants.

You can sign up for alerts at FedReceiver if you want to keep up on what's happening.

How It Started – Investigating the American Tax Services Scam

Consumer complaints about American Tax Services convinced the FTC to take a closer look at the company, and for the last few years, investigators have been unraveling the scam by:

  • Learning about the company's practices by cross-referencing consumer complaints with the public records on liens ATS used to get taxpayers' addresses.
  • Working with the US Postal Service to learn more about the company's deceptive mailers and IRS impersonation. 
  • Collecting statements from former ATS customers and employees. 
  • Making undercover phone calls to hear the company's false claims and aggressive sales tactics. 

The FTC alleged that the company violated federal consumer protection laws and targeted taxpayers through deceptive marketing practices.

In 2022, American Tax Solutions (an affiliated company of American Tax Services) agreed to a settlement in a case involving the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). The company had been sending out deceptive mailers to Wisconsin taxpayers, selling tax services without the right state licenses, and not delivering clients the services they paid for. 

As a result of the settlement, the company was prohibited from sending mailers or offering tax-related adjustment services in Wisconsin. The settlement documents show how much consumers lost during the period when the company was operating in Wisconsin –

  • $119,000 ordered to be refunded to 37 Wisconsin customers – approximately $3200 per customer. 
  • $210,000 in forfeitures, assessments, and costs – most of this money is to cover the additional tax and penalties taxpayers incurred while American Tax Services was failing to provide the paid-for services. This equates to approximately $5675 per taxpayer, based on 37 taxpayers.

Taxpayers were paying for services, but instead of getting help, they lost their money, and their tax bills grew. Unfortunately, these tactics aren't that new, and they're not limited to American Tax Services. 

Shady Tactics in the Tax Relief Industry– How to Protect Yourself 

Here's what American Tax Services did to taxpayers, along with tips on how to avoid falling into these traps when you're looking for help with your tax problems.

Deceptive marketing 

American Tax Services commonly mailed customers advertisements that appeared to be from the government. These scary notices prompted taxpayers to call the company, but many of them weren't even aware that they were reaching a private company. They thought they were calling the government.

Taxpayer tip: Never work with companies that resort to deceptive advertising. You deserve transparency. Check out how to spot fake IRS letters.

False claims 

When customers called in, they talked with a salesperson who said whatever it took to get them to sign up for their services. ATS's sales team misled customers about the severity of their situation to scare them into signing up for their services. They'd make up lies, telling customers that their accounts had been flagged by the IRS or marked as high risk. 

Taxpayer tip: Aggressive salespeople are a big red flag. Quality tax professionals don't have to scare you into signing up for their services. To read more, see our blog on signs you're getting bad advice in a tax consult.

Unfulfilled promises

American Tax Solutions promised clients that they'd stop collections or settle their taxes for pennies on the dollar. According to the FTC’s complaint, ATS collected fees but did little, if any, of the promised work

Taxpayer tip: Never hire companies that promise settlements before they know about your financial situation. While tax settlements can be possible, they are not the norm and certainly not available to everyone. Here's more on how to find legit tax relief.

Were You Working With ATS? How to Get Relief

If you were working with American Tax Services when they were shut down by the government or potentially even before, you likely lost money and still have an unsolved tax problem. Here's what you can you.

Avoid scams – don't pay fees for ATS refunds

First, be careful. There are people who know you're in a vulnerable spot, and they want to exploit you. 

On November 19, 2025, the FTC issued an alert that some former clients of ATS were being contacted by scammers. If anyone contacts you and requests a fee to get back the money you paid to ATS, that is a scam. The FTC has not appointed any third parties to act on its behalf, and the FTC and the Receiver in this case will never request a fee to get a refund. 

Find out what's happening with your tax situation

Unfortunately, even if you were scammed, the IRS may still be pursuing your tax debt. 

ATS's sales team often told customers that they were in immediate threat of losing their income or assets, even if they weren't. There's a chance that whatever you were told by ATS wasn't true, and your case may not be as bad as you think.

That being said, the IRS is the most powerful collection agency in the country, and if you have unpaid taxes, you are at risk of collection actions. You can call the IRS to see what's happening with your account, or you can sign up for an IRS online account where you'll be able to see any recently received notices. 

Determine if you're facing urgent collections

The IRS can seize wages, bank accounts, and assets, but the agency must give you proper notice before doing so. Figure out which notice the agency sent you last so that you can determine if you're facing an imminent threat. 

  • Demands for payment – If the last notice was a CP14, CP503, or even a CP504, your wages and assets are not at immediate risk. But interest and penalties are still accruing on your balance, and you may face garnishments or seizures in the future. 
  • Final Notice of Intent to Levy – If the last notice was a Final Intent to Levy With Your Right to a Hearing, your assets are at risk. The IRS can start garnishing wages or taking assets with no additional warning, 30 days after the notice date. In this situation, you need to take action immediately.
  • Notice of deficiency – the IRS sends this notice before assessing additional tax against you, and it gives you 90 days to respond before the bill becomes final. You don't have to worry about collections at this point, but be aware that not responding to this notice will lead to a tax bill and eventually to collections. 

Get help from an experienced tax professional

At this point, you're probably stressed, angry, and worried about your finances. You might be hoping the situation will just go away, but unfortunately, it won't. The IRS has no idea which clients were working with ATS, and they're still adding interest and penalties to your account and/or potentially exploring involuntary collections. 

To protect yourself, you need to reach out to a licensed tax professional, but how do you avoid hooking up with another scammer? Keep these tips in mind:

  • Avoid companies that use deceptive advertising – ethical tax professionals don't have to trick you into calling them. 
  • Watch out for aggressive sales pitches – getting help often starts with a phone call, and the person on the other end should be explaining the company's services, while learning more about your tax problems. They should not be bullying you or scaring you into signing up for their services. 
  • Be aware of guarantees and promises – tax settlements are very complex. The IRS takes an extremely in-depth look at your finances, and if you have a spare dollar, they want it. If someone's guaranteeing that you'll qualify for a settlement before they know about your financial situation, that's a sign they're inexperienced at best and a total scammer at worst.
  • Work with licensed tax pros – only three types of tax pros can represent you in front of the IRS (enrolled agents, CPAs, and attorneys). These are the only people who can file forms or talk to the IRS on your behalf. The big companies have tax pros, but they're typically very inexperienced and overworked. You should only work with tax resolution companies where you have direct access to the tax professional working your case. 
  • Look for customized solutions – there's no one-size-fits-all solution for tax problems. You should work with a licensed tax professional who customizes a solution based on your unique situation. How do you know if they're doing that? It's in the questions. Tax pros who provide customized solutions take a lot of time to get an in-depth understanding of your tax situation. If you're just hearing a sales pitch and not being asked about your tax problem, that is not a good sign. 

You should also strongly consider a local company – that allows you to meet face-to-face with the pro, but it also ensures they can help you with state tax problems, an area where the big companies often lack experience. 

How to Get Back into Compliance

If you still owe the IRS, here are the main payment options. Setting up any of these options will stop the IRS from taking collection actions against you. However, if you're already dealing with an active wage garnishment or a levy, you need to contact the IRS to make sure the resolution will stop in-progress collections.

  • Installment agreement – monthly payments on your tax debt, potentially for up to 10 years. 
  • Offer in compromise – settlement for less than owed, but subject to a detailed financial assessment.
  • Currently not collectible – prove you can't pay by providing financial statements, and the IRS pauses all collections until your finances improve. 

Find Transparent, Ethical, Experienced Help on TaxCure

The big nationwide tax firms don't provide the quality of service that you deserve – and sometimes, like American Tax Services, they just take your money and run. But the big companies are the easiest to find – they're the ones advertising on TV and all over social media. They're also the ones featured in articles about the best tax relief companies.

That puts taxpayers in a tough spot – and they may not know where to turn. Tax resolution is a very specific part of the tax industry, and often your regular accountant doesn't know how to help if you're dealing with a lot of tax debt, IRS collections, tax assessments, audits, etc. 

That's where TaxCure comes in. This site was created to help taxpayers find quality help for their tax problems. It's the only comprehensive online directory of tax resolution professionals in the marketplace. The site allows you to search for tax pros based on their experience with certain problems or solutions, and you can also target pros in specific areas. 

Search results include a list of tax professionals, making it easy to see their credentials and read reviews from other taxpayers. Taxes are stressful, but the right pro can make the process easier. Don't wait – start your search on TaxCure today.

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