A leading national tax preparation franchisor has accused a former manager of accessing and using confidential client information without authorization to operate competing tax businesses, according to a federal court filing. The complaint was filed by Jackson Hewitt Inc. on March 31, 2026 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina against Lacy Drummond.
The lawsuit outlines allegations that after voluntarily resigning from her position with Tall Oak Tax Services—an independently owned franchisee operating multiple Jackson Hewitt locations in North Carolina and Virginia—Drummond accessed Jackson Hewitt’s internal systems using other employees’ credentials. According to the complaint, she exported prior year client lists, downloaded customer tax documents, prepared refund-based loan applications, and accessed additional proprietary information after her resignation on November 13, 2025.
Jackson Hewitt alleges that Drummond retained computers containing its proprietary ProFiler tax preparation software and confidential client data after leaving Tall Oak. The company states that these actions violated both federal law—including the Defend Trade Secrets Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act—and state laws regarding trade secrets protection and computer crimes. “She is now using that information to operate competing tax preparation businesses,” the complaint reports.
The filing details how Drummond allegedly used credentials belonging to other employees—including her niece Samantha Sargeant and her daughter Abigail Drummond—to gain continued access to Jackson Hewitt’s systems from an IP address associated with her home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Activity logs cited in the complaint indicate significant post-resignation access volumes from these accounts at times inconsistent with their owners’ locations or employment status.
Jackson Hewitt further claims that Drummond used this confidential information to solicit clients for her own businesses operating under names such as “Lacy Drummond, CPA,” “Tall Oak Tax Financial Services,” “Drummond Tax,” and “Best Tax and Accounting NC.” According to the complaint, none of these entities are registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State. The company also references findings by the North Carolina State Board of CPA Examiners censuring Drummond for holding herself out as a CPA while still employed at Tall Oak but preparing taxes under her own name using Jackson Hewitt’s systems.
The lawsuit asserts that Drummond’s actions have caused substantial harm to Jackson Hewitt’s franchise operations in both North Carolina and Virginia. The company cites declines in year-over-year return counts—31.4% in North Carolina locations and 19.8% in Virginia—as well as corresponding reductions in gross revenue totaling over $770,000 across both territories as of March 19, 2026. Because franchise royalties are based on revenue generated from these clients, Jackson Hewitt claims direct financial losses resulting from what it describes as “the diversion of long-term clients” through misappropriated trade secrets.
Legal arguments presented include misappropriation of trade secrets under both federal (Defend Trade Secrets Act) and state (North Carolina Trade Secrets Protection Act) statutes; unauthorized computer access under federal law (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) as well as state law; tortious interference with business relations; breach of duty of confidentiality; unfair or deceptive trade practices; unjust enrichment; and participation in a statutory business conspiracy under Virginia law.
Jackson Hewitt is seeking temporary restraining orders as well as preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting Drummond from retaining or using any stolen materials or soliciting any clients whose information was taken. The company also requests an order requiring return of all records in any form, identification of affected clients, forensic inspection of devices involved at Drummond’s expense, actual damages including lost profits or unjust enrichment amounts to be determined at trial, exemplary or punitive damages where permitted by statute—including treble damages—and attorneys’ fees.
According to the filing signed by attorney Bettie Kelley Sousa (NC Bar No.9902) from Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers LLP representing Jackson Hewitt Inc., no judge is named explicitly in the document. The case is identified as Civil Action No. 5:26-cv-00206.
Source: 526cv00206_Jackson_Hewitt_Inc_v_Drummond_Complaint_Eastern_District_North_Carolina.pdf
