incarcerated client risky prep?

[Colmatt]

Client's son is incarcerated.  Any risk to me filing his return?  Wouldn't want my preparer number associated with questionable client.  More importantly, risking my other clients filed under my number.  Am I tax season closing crazy?

[sjrcpa]

Do you do criminal background checks on all your other clients?

Assuming no, you have no idea what they may have done in the past.

[Colmatt]

Now that is very true.  Scary but true.  

[BobKamman]

What if your client has been indicted on 88 counts, and is a defendant in a criminal trial that starts (of all dates) on April 15?

[Colmatt]

Not a pole long enough to take that one!

[IRonMaN]

There are a lot of innocent people sitting behind bars (along with a lot of guilty ones).  I would ask the parents what he is in for and then decide from there if you still want to proceed.  Like Susan referenced you may have prepared returns for a lot of folks that may have done worse things than the kid currently sitting in jail.

[PATAX]

I don't think there's any risk to you or your clients. The parents are in a difficult situation, maybe you should have a little bit of compassion for them.

[Colmatt1]

I do, which is why I did it. 

[Jim-from-Ohio]

I had a client that robbed a bank.. not kidding. he got put away for years.. the wife still came in we did the taxes.. we filed separate.. guy got out of prison a few months ago.. called me asking for his 2022 AGI so he could file online for free.. nice guy.. he was very cordial to me.. they were able to find him after the bank robbery from a car bumper that fell off in a crash during the escape and they matched that to his car.. The wife has since remarried.  The End.