The government claims Ogbazion “knew of illegal activity within its franchises but took no meaningful steps to stop it.”
In response to the complaint filed in March in federal court in Dayton, Ogbazion’s attorney stated in a court filing earlier this week that “franchisees of Instant Tax Service were not under the control of defendants, and defendants are not responsible for any wrongful conduct, if any, committed by such franchisees.”
The government filed its lawsuit against Ogbazion — who allegedly owes the government nearly $1 million in back taxes of his own — and three of his companies: ITS Financial, the franchisor for Instant Tax; a holding company called TCA Financial LLC; and Tax Tree LLC.
The government is seeking a permanent injunction barring Ogbazion and his franchisees from continuing in the tax-preparation business.
A pretrial conference has been scheduled for June 11 before U.S. District Judge Timothy Black.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or rtucker@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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