Two advisory councils in the Liberty Tax Service network have endorsed the hiring of three new executives by the tax services chain. The council's official statement noted that the new execs come out of the franchisee and area developer base.

Thomson Reuters says CEO Jim Smith is expected to be released from a hospital within the next two weeks. Smith was reported to be in stable condition in a Toronto, Ont., hospital, after suffering an arrhythmia incident on February 12.

A Las Vegas, Nev.-based tax return preparer has pleaded guilty to preparing returns that cheated the government out of more than $2.7 million. Ofelia Ronquillo, age 62, admitted using a variety of techniques to preparer and submit false returns from 2009 through 2015.