H&R Block: Being Sued by NY State

Tax preparation giant H&R Block is being sued for steering customers into high-fee Individual Retirement Accounts. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said, "H&R Block misled investors about the fees. This is a blatant violation of law." News reports: Washington Post, NY Times, National Public Radio, and Reuters. Commentary: Don't Mess With Taxes. H&R Block has gotten into legal troubles earlier this year: the State of California sued Block over its "Rapid Refund" loan program (San Jose Mercury News), Block mailed out copies of TaxCut with people's Social Security Numbers included in the pre-printed mailing labels (eWeek), and then the company goofed on their corporate tax returns (Bloomberg).

What's next for H&R Block? The company has been approved to offer bank accounts and mortgages by the Office of Thrift Supervision.