ORDER The Government brings this action against William Doonan and William Doonan and Associates, Inc., d/b/a William Doonan, Esq. (“WDA”), seeking a permanent injunction restraining Defendants from, among other things, preparing federal tax returns for others. Compl., ECF No. 1. Now before the Court is the Government’s motion for a preliminary injunction, ECF No. 18, on which the Court heard oral argument on April 2, 2020, ECF No. 36. For the reasons stated below, the Government’s motion is GRANTED. BACKGROUND Doonan operates WDA, a company providing tax-preparation services to taxpayer-customers in the greater New York City area. Dixon Decl. 4, ECF No. 20. Doonan has prepared and submitted tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) since at least 2004, id. 6, and WDA has been registered as a tax-preparation company since 2003, id. Ex. A at l.1 I. The Criminal Action For the tax processing years of 2012 to 2016,2 Defendants filed approximately 23, 245 tax returns on behalf of others. See Dixon Decl. 11. In 2012 and 2013, the IRS audited 69 returns prepared by Doonan for the 2009 through 2012 tax years.3 Id. 13. Fifty-four of those audits, constituting approximately 78 percent of the total submitted by Doonan during those years, showed that the taxpayer owed additional tax liability. See id. 14. On certain occasions, the IRS examiner rejected unreimbursed employee expenses or business losses claimed by Doonan’s customers on the grounds that the claims were falsified or lacked substantiation. See id. 15. The 69 examined returns reflected a total understated tax liability of approximately $163,466, with an average deficiency per return of approximately $2,369. See id. 16. In November 2016, the Government filed a criminal information against Doonan in this district. See United States v. Doonan, No. 16 Cr. 732 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 1, 2016) (the “Criminal Action”), ECF No. 2. The Government charged Doonan with one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent or false documents in matters arising under the internal revenue laws, in violation of 26 U.S.C §7206(2), and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §7212(a). See id. at 1-6. On November 1, 2016, Doonan pleaded guilty to both counts. Dixon Decl., Ex. B, Plea Allocution Transcript (“Plea Tr.”) at 17; Criminal Action, ECF No. 14-1. At his plea allocution, Doonan admitted that, from 2009 to April 2013, he “knowingly prepared and caused the preparation of filing federal false tax returns” that included “[w]holly fictitious, inflated itemized deductions and business expenses.” Plea Tr. at 17. Doonan further acknowledged that, in 2011 and 2012, he “put down more expenses than some people had” on their tax returns, and that he knew that, by falsifying those expenses, he was “going to get those people greater refunds or have them pay lesser in taxes than they should.” Id. at 16. In sentencing Doonan, the Honorable Vernon S. Broderick determined that Doonan had caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $1.8 million. See Dixon Decl., Ex. C, Sentencing Hearing Transcript (“Sentencing Tr.”) at 11; Criminal Action, ECF No. 22 (“Since the defendant here is responsible for a tax loss of approximately $1.8 million, the base offense level results in a 22.”). II. The Civil Action After receiving information from an anonymous informant, the IRS initiated a civil investigation of Defendants focused on tax-processing years 2012 to 2016. See Dixon Decl.
