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The value of a professional accountant at your disposal is...

Persons pretending to be Canada Revenue Agency agents pressure restaurant owners for payment, only upon checking with their accountant do the owners find it is a scam.

Several Canada Revenue Agency auditors allegedly sought cash payoffs from Montreal restaurant owners in order to avoid an audit, according to court documents obtained by the Radio-Canada program EnquÃªte.

RCMP are investigating the allegations, which involve four restaurants, including a small family-run Italian eatery in the cityâ€™s west end.

The owners of that restaurant told police that they received a visit from an auditor who commented on how busy their business was. Shortly after that, the owners said they received a letter from the CRA noting their restaurant was about to be audited. They were told to speak with a specific auditor.

The auditor told them they were in serious trouble. He met with the couple in a park near their restaurant and told them they were on the hook for $250,000. He then offered to make the problem go away if they paid him $50,000 in cash.

The restaurant owners asked their accountant for advice and it was soon discovered that the original letter from CRA about the audit was a fake, according to police.

Three other restaurants reported similar experiences. In one case, the son of an owner was told it would take $90,000 to quash an investigation into $700,000 in undeclared income.

Police said all of the restaurant owners have been co-operative. To date, no charges have been laid.

The investigation is not believed to be connected to previous investigations involving CRA employees in Montreal.

The value of retaining a professional accountant is knowing that your financial interests are being represented to the best of your interests and no one elses.

article courtesy cbc

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