SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A metro Atlanta woman says she paid $15,000 in back taxes for her 93-year-old mother, but learned not one dime was paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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Donna Hines says she gets emotional talking about defending her 93-year-old mother, Edna.
“I want to take care of her the way she took care of us,” Hines said.
Hines says they are battling a local tax company after she paid thousands of dollars for back taxes owed under her mother’s name. Hines told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln in 2024 she hired Whitlan Tax Service to settle her mother’s taxes.
She says the owners told her the tax amount owed was $15,000.
“She said, no, we don’t want a check, we need cash,” Hines said.
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But instead of paying the IRS directly, Hines says the owner told her she should pay them directly through Zelle, Cash App, or a wire transfer. Banks’ records show Hines made monthly deposits to the owner’s bank accounts.
When the final deposit was made, that’s when she says all communication from the company stopped.
“I’ve tried, I’ve called, I’ve done everything that I know to do,” she told Lincoln.
Lincoln went by the businesses located on Old National Highway. After speaking with employees for more than 20 minutes, no one could answer why Hine’s taxes were not paid to the IRS.
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Channel 2 Action News discovered the Secretary of State’s Office dissolved the business’s license in 2024, under the LLC name Carjay Financial.
The state says the owners were not supposed to be conducting any business after their license was dissolved. However, Hines says the owners continued accepting her payments directly.
Records show the owner did file for a new business license in March of this year under a different business name. That license is currently active.
“I just want the taxes to be paid,” she said.
Hines says she hired a new certified public accountant and learned nothing was deposited on behalf of her mother.
Hines says she’s been unable to refile because the Whitlan Tax Service has all of her original documents.
After Channel 2 Action News spoke with the business, the owner did eventually call Hines. She told Lincoln the owners said they plan to return her documents and money by Friday.
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