The Worst Tax Preparer Reviews

Client Review of

Kathy Marciniak, CPA

Eugene, OR

Springfield, OR
September 14, 2023

So I'll just start at the beginning of my working "relationship" with Kathy. At first I thought she was going to be the answer to my prayers for a good accountant / bookkeeper. We agreed that she was going to do my monthly bookkeeping and then my taxes when they came due. The next few months were a little odd because I never received an invoice from her for the monthly bookkeeping, I had to actually reach out a couple of times and inquire about the bills and where we were at accounting wise. She said that everything was going good and that she would "try" and get me a monthly invoice, which never happened. Before 2021 taxes were finalized, I called for some advice about buying a new truck for my business. I needed to know what my tax obligation looked like before I purchased the truck. She told me a dollar amount and based off that information I purchased the vehicle. When it came time to sign off on the taxes my tax obligation went up almost $6000. I called and asked her why and how they went up so much in such a short period of time. Her response was that they need to re-categorize some things and that they were giving me 100% credit for business meals, she said that I was only allowed to claim 50%. (Which is not true for tax years 2021 and 2022, the Federal Government was allowing 100% deduction for those two years due to Covid.) I bit my tongue and moved on. Still not receiving any monthly invoices other than what I owed for the tax preparation. Reached out multiple times throughout 2022 and was told by one of Kathy's employees that they needed monthly bank statements or access to my bank account on-line. Which I gave them a log-in for my bank. This employee received it and logged on, confirming that it was all they needed. Again, months go by and no contact or invoices. We are now in 2023. I am now an LLC filing as an S-corp (per Kathy's recommendation), so I'm assuming that it's important to stay on top of things. I reached out again to Kathy and inquired about the invoicing and where things were at with the accounting. She responded with "You were supposed to get us access to your bank last year and you never have, so nothing has been done". Never mind that I got them access in the beginning of 2023 and have the email chain with her employee verifying as such. She then said that she was mistaken and would look into it. A week goes by and all of a sudden she emails me asking about my S-corp application, wondering if it was approved. I told her yes and that her employee was aware of it as well at the beginning of 2023. She then proceeds to throw together my taxes for 2022 and tells me to sign them, "they need to be filed by September 15th." She had questions about some debits in the business account but never received the answer to those due to the fact I thought we had until October 15th to file. She just moved everything to "supplies" and threw the tax forms together. I sent her an email listing my concerns about how things have gone up to this point and was looking for some answers. She filed the taxes and quit. Now I have NO idea what has been done or what NEEDS to be done. I'm now in the race to find another accountant that can come in and clean up her mess. By the way, that truck I bought? I had to sell it immediately for a $2500 loss. This "accountant" has potentially cost me thousands of dollars by leaving me high and dry the way she did. My next step, filing a complaint with the Oregon Board of Accountancy. If you're in the market for a new accountant, go somewhere else.
Client Review of

Melissa J. Westergard, CPA

Summerfield, NC

Austin, TX
August 14, 2023

Melissa is the most disorganized, unprofessional, and inept CPA we've ever used. As of today, we found out she's also a liar. We hired Melissa to do our 2021 business and personal returns. In short, she delayed over the course of nearly a year and then, when the extended deadline came to fruition, she dropped a massive tax liability bomb on us. Her tax estimate ended up being more than $500,000 more than what we actually owed (as determined by a new CPA). At that point, she "put our file to the side to focus on other clients." She's left us on the hook for substantial penalties and interest for her inability to do her job correctly. And almost had us overpay the IRS by over a half a million dollars. Unprofessional because she took video calls with our in-house accountant and CFO in a Garfield t-shirt with her kids running in and out of the room. At this point, we were too deep to course correct, but those two employees made it known that they were concerned about her professionalism and abilities as a CPA. More recently, we filed complaints with the CPA Boards over her behavior (she's registered in UT, SC, and NC). We attempted to obtain her insurance information to file a claim against her for the above gaffes. Her attorney responded and told bold-faced lies about what she did (claiming we didn't get her information on-time/blocked access to certain files). These are patently false and complete lies. We have all of it documented, in detail, via email correspondences. Our new CPAs have also submitted sworn statements to her inability to render professional accounting services. In short, AVOID MELISSA WESTERGARD. We will make sure this is challenged in court so she can't put others in financial peril.
Client Review of

Raymond A. Froy, CPA

Bluefield, VA

Bluefield, VA
August 13, 2023

This accountant was not a friend or family member, and most of us had never seen him before, but somehow, this accountant was able to obtain POA over my mentally ill father (stepfather) just days after my father was released from a mental health facility, against medical advice. We are unsure how this happened, or how this accountant became involved with my father, because we had never seen my father in the same room with him….. the POA was all done behind my mother’s back, who had been my dad’s POA for years. This accountant had his longtime girlfriend notarize the POA document, and although it was not filed with the courts, this accountant used that POA and caused mass chaos and essentially ruined my parent’s lives and their company. I feel like people need to be made aware of what happened to my family, due to my dad’s mental illness, as I now understand that what happened to my family, can happen to anyone, especially in a small town, where we have a failed and corrupt legal system. My dad had a long history of mental illness, dating back to 2017. He had diagnoses of dementia, Alzheimer’s, bipolar, mania, psychosis, major Neurocognitive disorder, alcohol dementia that caused confabulations, and encephalopathy. My dad was also very paranoid. My dad was often used financially, because with his confabulations, came grandiose behavior. My dad often believed he was a multi millionaire and had overseas bank accounts, and my dad would convince others that this was true, however my dad did not have millions. He and my mom owned a mining equipment company, and they had assets, but not multi millions. My dad had went missing on July 21, 2021, and after he was found confused, disoriented, and extremely ill, in a hotel parking lot, he was taken to the local ER by EMS. His blood alcohol content was zero and his toxicology was negative for illicit drugs; but because of his mania and mental status, and the fact that he had escaped the ER, he was involuntarily committed. According to medical records, someone had told the hospital staff that my dad’s family had lied about his mental health in order to have him committed, and that his wife was divorcing him, because she was trying to take over his company, and although none of that was true, obviously the staff believed it. My mom owned half of the company, and under no circumstances, could she, or anyone have taken my dad’s half from him. Apparently the hospital was led to believe that my dad was the sole owner of the company. According to a Facebook post made by this accountant’s girlfriend, my dad (and others) were falsely convinced that his family had left him in the hospital with no money or keys, and that he had been locked out of his own home, and although that was also untrue, my dad, and others, believed it. It was during COVID, and we were restricted from even visiting. My dad was released from the mental health facility on August 4, 2021, against medical advice, and behind our backs. The hospital had been convinced not to speak to his wife (who was his POA) because they were supposedly going through an ugly divorce. This was also untrue, but we assume that my dad had also been told this while in the mental hospital, and since no one visited him due to COVID restrictions, he likely believed he had been abandoned as well. After he was discharged without our knowledge, he was taken to his estranged ex sister in law’s house that happened to be located directly beside of this accountant’s mother, and we later realized that my dad’s ex sister in law and this accountant were long time friends. We do know, from several witnesses, and through text messages sent by the ex sister in law, that she had told my dad, and others, that his family had been “poisoning” him to make him appear ill so we could take over his company, and according to medical records we have since reviewed, this accountant had told doctor’s treating my dad, that he was my dad’s “forensic accountant” and had disc
Client Review of

Laura E. Llanes

Chula Vista, CA

Chula Vista, CA
August 5, 2023

It is with deep regret I trusted her. I thought I was helping her by going with her. I make under 60k and I am a single mother. I could have used the service provided for struggling mothers who barely have enough to go by but I went with her. Mrs Laura Llanes acted in an unprofessional manner when dealing with my taxes. She retaliated because she bought a car from our dealer and later had buyers remorse. There was no way we could return the car even if we wanted to. I warned her and the whole dealer warned her of the consequences. She did not care. It was two weeks later she wanted to return. It’s not my fault she decided to buy a car. This is not something I pushed on her to do. While after Laura told me she was having heart health problems due to the car she bought well then I thought I would go with her and do my taxes. However she betrayed my private information and caused me penalties for putting down my daughter lives with me “0” days. This caused me $1,500.00 in penalties. I will try to fix the error with another tax preparer. However I wanted to share this for future references. I do not recommend and would not trust her. It is unbecoming to take advantage of others. I’m a single mother and barely get by! I can’t believe there are women out there destroying other women. It is a shame to have to share this. Please avoid if you care for your children and depend on such income.