Charles Walker, Instant Tax investigations still ongoing

Long-running federal investigations targeting two Springfield businesses that were thrust into the spotlight when authorities descended on their offices during work hours and conducted court-sanctioned searches are apparently still open.

On a Tuesday morning in July 2006, officers from the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Secret Service, Missouri Highway Patrol, Missouri Water Patrol and Springfield Police Department executed a federal search warrant at the office of Charles E. Walker Realty Inc., 3662 S. Glenstone Ave., a space now occupied by Rivals Casual Grille.

Over a period of about seven hours, agents seized computers and documents, and an IRS spokeswoman told Springfield Business Journal at the time that Walker Realty had been under investigation for at least six months.

Three years later, little more is known about the nature of the investigation, which hasn't resulted in any arrests or criminal charges.

Walker Realty closed down a short time after the highly publicized search, but former owner Charles Walker has never publicly commented about the government's interest in his business.

Reached at his home in Monett, Walker declined to discuss the investigation and referred questions to the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Josh Nixon said the bureau has never been involved in the Walker Realty investigation, and Greg Enyart, Springfield's resident Secret Service agent, declined to comment, as did Special Agent John Nunez, a spokesman for the IRS Criminal Investigations Division.

More is known about the IRS investigation into Springfield's Instant Tax Service franchise and its owner, Kevin Leon Edmonds, a certified public accountant.

In April 2007, IRS agents served search warrants at eight Instant Tax Service locations in the Springfield area and carted off truckloads of computer devices, billing records and other documents. According to an affidavit provided by the IRS, agents believe Instant Tax Service was selling information about tax filers' dependents and preying on mentally disabled and poor people by stating false incomes on official forms that resulted in fraudulent tax returns, which averaged $2,200 per client.

Edmonds, who granted SBJ an interview the following week, said he was "shocked" by the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

"I'm - by no means - claiming to be perfect. We are human, but there was no organized scheme to file false returns or anything of that nature," he said at the time.

An attempt to arrange a follow-up interview with Edmonds through his Springfield attorney, Dee Wampler, was unsuccessful, and listed numbers for his tax preparation offices were disconnected.

Edmonds did, however, receive a mention in a BusinessWeek story published in April that says the IRS fears federal stimulus-funded tax breaks could increase fraudulent behavior in the $30 billion, unregulated tax-preparation industry. According to that report, "A Boom for Tax Prep," Instant Tax Service now employs Edmonds as an "area developer" in Oklahoma. The article also cites an August 2008 news release issued by Instant Tax Service that confirms the Dayton, Ohio-based franchisor terminated its contract with Edmonds after the IRS investigation came to light in 2007. The release noted that no arrests have been made or charges filed in the case.

"We allowed the franchise to expand too quickly, and I think it was a mutual learning experience," Kyle Wade, vice president of franchise development at Instant Tax Service, said in the release. "We no longer allow our franchisees to operate so many stores in their first or second year out."

Nunez, with the IRS, declined to comment on the status of the Instant Tax Service investigation.