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Local Minister And Wife Accused Of Tax Fraud

DETROIT (WWJ) - A local minister and his wife are in serious trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.

According to a Justice Department lawsuit, Diamond Tax Service owner Damian Jackson and his wife Holly are accused of filing fraudulent tax returns for customers that caused the I.R.S. to pay out $1.6 million in error.

The complaint also identified Damian Jackson as a minister at Perfecting Church, a claim that Perfecting Church's founder, minister Marvin Winans, denies.

"I don't have an assistant," Winans told WWJ Newsradio 950's Florence Walton. "He's a young man that goes to Perfecting Church ... just nothing that was done or sponsored by the church."

Winans said Jackson was not on staff at the church.

"He and his wife have their own business. Like I said, he's a minister. He's a good man," Winans said.

According to the Justice Department, tax returns prepared through Diamond Tax Services allegedly have sought fraudulent refunds for years going back to 2006, and the Jacksons allegedly requested $2.5 million in bogus refunds on their own returns.

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