Attorney General Ford Announces Settlement Requiring Tax-Relief Scammers to Surrender Nearly $10 Million in Assets for Consumer Relief

Carson City, NV —Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced a proposed settlement requiring the operators of a tax debt relief scheme to surrender more than $8 million in cash and additional assets valued at nearly $10 million. The recovered assets are intended to provide consumer relief to individuals harmed by the defendants' alleged deceptive tax debt relief scheme. The settlement also permanently bans the individual defendants from debt relief services, tax preparation services, telemarketing and other deceptive business practices.

The settlement resolves allegations against Terrance Selb and Tyler Bennett, operators of American Tax Service (ATS), who are accused of misleading consumers seeking assistance with tax debt and collecting millions of dollars through deceptive practices.

"Consumers who are struggling with tax debt deserve honest information and legitimate assistance, not false promises and scare tactics," said Attorney General Ford. "My office will continue working with our federal partners to hold those accountable who prey on vulnerable consumers and exploit their financial concerns for profit."

According to the lawsuit, Selb, Bennett and their affiliated companies falsely claimed they could settle consumers' tax debts for "pennies on the dollar" or for only a fraction of the amount owed, often before evaluating whether consumers qualified for such relief. The defendants also allegedly impersonated federal and state tax authorities; used threatening communications regarding consumers' tax obligations; and marketed services that frequently failed to deliver the promised results.

The FTC and Nevada further alleged that the scheme targeted older consumers and pressured them into purchasing costly add-on services, sometimes charging tens of thousands of dollars for services that either did not exist or provided little value.

A federal court temporarily halted the operation in October 2025 after the FTC and Nevada filed suit against Selb, Bennett and several affiliated entities.

Under the proposed settlement, Selb and Bennett are permanently prohibited from:

• Advertising, marketing, promoting, offering or assisting with debt relief products or services;
• Engaging in nearly all outbound telemarketing activities;
• Providing tax preparation services and related activities;
• Impersonating individuals, businesses or government entities; and
• Misrepresenting material facts about any product or service.

The proposed order imposes a judgment of $77.7 million, representing the amount consumers allegedly paid to the defendants between February 2022 and 2025. Based on the defendants' financial condition, the judgment is suspended after the surrender of approximately $8 million in cash and additional assets. However, the full amount will become immediately due if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their finances.

Litigation remains ongoing against the corporate defendants, including American Tax Service LLC, American Tax Solutions, American Tax Solutions LLC, ATS Tax Group LLC, Elite Sales Solutions (doing business as American Tax Service), GetATaxLawyer.com LLC, TNT Holdings Group LLC, TNT Services Group LLC and TNT Tax Associates Inc. The FTC filed a motion for default judgment against those entities in May 2026.

The proposed settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada and must be approved by the court before it takes effect.

Consumers who believe they have been the victim of fraud or deceptive business practices are encouraged to file a complaint with the Nevada Attorney General's Office at https://ag.nv.gov/Complaints/CSU_Complaints___FAQ/ .

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