Jun.10, 2010, 1:00 a.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY - A new lawsuit against national tax preparation chain Jackson Hewitt claims 66 more investors lost $5.5 million to a scam run out of local franchise offices.

The new plaintiffs include law enforcement officers, doctors and even a former business partner of Daniel Prewett, a felon who bought Jackson Hewitt franchises and ran his own investment company from the same desk.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a decision by a Sarasota County jury that ruled the national chain should repay $575,000 to a Sarasota dentist for not stopping Prewett from pilfering the man's money.

Jackson Hewitt is appealing that February civil verdict, which bolstered similar claims from as many as 130 other investors who say they gave Prewett $18 million and lost it.

The attorney representing the jilted investors says he will now ask the court to hear all those claims at one time, in a mass trial early in 2011. If the jury finds Jackson Hewitt liable for the losses, each client would have their own hearing to determine their exact losses, Sarasota attorney Robert Turffs said.

Prewett, attorneys said, cloaked his scheme in Jackson Hewitt's name. He sold investments out of the Jackson Hewitt office where he wore a Jackson Hewitt shirt, and told customers that Jackson Hewitt was behind the JH Investment Services offerings.

One of the new plaintiffs, Sarasota police officer Todd Perna, testified in the February civil trial to show how deeply the Jackson Hewitt brand influenced people to trust and invest with Prewett.

Perna knew Prewett as a guy who did Perna's taxes and offered investments on behalf of the nationally respected chain. But Perna said the police chief later called him to his office and told him federal agents had just arrested Prewett on money-laundering charges, and the chief wanted to know why Perna's name was in his paperwork.

If it does not get the verdict thrown out, Jackson Hewitt may consider a series of settlements, legal experts said.

The national Jackson Hewitt company became the focus of lawsuits after it became apparent that investors would not recover anything from Prewett. Federal authorities arrested Prewett on money laundering charges at his Jackson Hewitt office in 2006, the first sign for investors that their money might not be safe.

Prewett fled to Italy, but was brought back and later sentenced to 18 years in prison for money laundering. But the intricacies of international treaties have blocked prosecutors from charging him with a crime related to the fraudulent investments.

No charges meant no restitution for victims through the criminal court.

Prewett and his company then filed for bankruptcy, and the investors learned that they were the last in line behind banks and other creditors to be paid and therefore had no chance at any money.

That prompted attorneys to file suit against Jackson Hewitt instead.