DOJ’s Fraud Division, IRS, and IRS-CI Expose More than $490M in Tax Fraud in National Tax Enforcement Surge

The Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division), along with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, today announced a nationwide series of enforcement actions targeting tax fraud.

Between early September and today, the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Tax Section and U.S. Attorneys' Offices across the country participated in the Department's first-ever National Tax Enforcement Surge. The surge of nationwide resources resulted in prosecutorial actions against 76 defendants whose alleged and proven crimes intended an estimated loss of revenue to the federal government of more than $490,000,000.

"Every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar taken from the American people," said Attorney General Todd Blanche. "What we uncovered during this concentrated surge is only the tip of the iceberg. The Department of Justice is committed to expanding our investigations and exposing schemes designed to evade accountability, because there is no safe haven for fraudsters."

"The Fraud Division is resolved to protect American taxpayers from criminal actors on every frontier of fraud, including tax fraudsters seeking to steal the wealth of America," said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division. "Over six weeks, the Fraud Division's Tax Section, 35 U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and IRS Criminal Investigation took action against over 70 defendants who sought more than $490 million from the Treasury. Today's results send a clear message to fraudsters: those who intentionally lie to steal the money of the American people should expect to answer for their conduct in federal court."

"This enforcement surge delivered results for taxpayers," said IRS CEO Frank J. Bisignano. "Under President Trump's leadership, we are working across government to go after fraud, hold bad actors accountable, and protect the integrity of our nation's tax system."

"If there was ever any question whether criminal tax enforcement remains a priority, today's actions should dispel all doubt. These cases send an unmistakable message that individuals and businesses who deliberately cheat the tax system will be held accountable," said Jarod Koopman, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation and Chief Tax Compliance Officer. "The investigations announced today involve hundreds of millions in identified tax losses to the United States, funds that should have supported the programs and services Americans depend on every day. When taxpayers evade their legal obligations, the burden does not disappear, it is shifted to law-abiding Americans."

The Department's prosecutors returned 23 actions with new charges against 31 defendants. The estimated intended loss to the public fisc arising from the allegations against these defendants exceeds approximately $350,000,000. In addition to returning these new charges, the Fraud Division's Tax Section and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices partook in around 39 other enforcement actions - trials, guilty pleas, and sentencings. These events affected another 45 defendants whose actions produced an estimated intended loss of nearly $140,000,000.

Notable Cases

1) United States v. Martin Navarrete (Indictment) - $2,800,000 - District of Maryland

According to the indictment, Navarrete, who served as sole owner and sole corporate officer of Navarrete Brothers Construction Inc. (NBC), exercised significant control and authority over NBC's finances. Among his responsibilities, Navarrete was tasked with collecting trust-fund taxes, accounting for employment taxes by filing Forms 941 with the IRS and paying the IRS the trust-fund taxes for NBC's employees.

From September 2020 through December 2025, Navarrete allegedly willfully failed to truthfully account for and pay over the trust-fund taxes owed to the IRS on behalf of NBC's employees. Additionally, Navarrete willfully failed to file U.S. Corporate Income Tax Return and Individual Tax Return forms for calendar years 2020-2024.

2) United States v. Sherita Booker (Information) - $11,806,165 - Northern District of Ohio

On Sept. 30, Sherita Booker, of Cleveland, was charged with aiding or assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent federal income tax returns. She allegedly prepared false returns and obtained large, fraudulent refunds for hundreds of clients, primarily using three programs: (1) COVID-19 sick leave credits for non-existent businesses and employees; (2) Refunds of purported fuel taxes paid for off-road (farm) use; and (3) Claims for refunds of taxes purportedly overpaid in previous years.

3) United States v. Marty Allen Linville (Sentencing) - $2,595,679 - Western District of Arkansas

Since at least 2010, Marty Allen Linville, age 58, owned and operated Malco Inc., a trucking business located in De Queen, Arkansas, where he had employees and paid them wages. Linville provided his employees with Forms W-2 that reported withholdings paid to the IRS on their behalf. However, Linville did not separately file the Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration or make the required tax deposits. More than one employee reported to Linville that their tax return refunds were frozen because no Form W-2 was on file with the IRS. Linville pled guilty to 2 counts of Willful Failure to Account for and Pay Over Trust Fund Taxes. Linville was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution, including penalties and interest, in the amount of $3.8 million.

4) United States vs. Duncan John MacDonald, Sarah Duren, Richard Ronald Cayce, and Thomas Weickgenant (Indictment) - $200,000,000 - Northern District of Texas

Four Texas residents charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and other crimes for promoting an illegal tax shelter. According to the indictment, the defendants promoted and sold a fraudulent trust scheme that was used to shelter more than $1.5 billion of income, causing an estimated tax loss to the IRS of more than $200 million. The defendants allegedly sold clients the tax shelter for fees that often exceeded $100,000 by fraudulently telling clients that they could assign their income to sham trusts to defer paying taxes in perpetuity, all while continuing to enjoy the benefit and control over their assets and income. The defendants also allegedly encouraged some clients to backdate their trusts and file amended income tax returns claiming refunds for prior years' taxes.

5) United States v. Ephantus Mwangi (Sentencing) - $1,500,000 - District of Kansas

A Kenyan national and Missouri businessman was sentenced to 51 months in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of the credit-card processing services companies he owned and operated. During this time, he spent more than $200,000 on loan payments for various luxury vehicles, including a Hummer H2, a Cadillac Escalade, two Range Rovers, two Mercedes, and a Lexus. He also willfully failed to file individual income tax returns for the years 2017 and 2020, and he filed 2018 and 2019 individual income tax returns after the deadline had passed.

6) United States v. Nelai Mitchell (Sentencing) - $13,800,000 - Eastern District of North Carolina

Nejlai Mitchell, an owner of a North Carolina tax return preparation business was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiring to prepare false returns claiming fraudulent refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits. From approximately April 2022 through May 2023, Mitchell and seven employees filed false tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the paid sick and family leave credit, a credit passed by Congress to aid struggling businesses during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The conspiracy resulted in a total of approximately $23.9 million in fraudulent tax refund claims. The IRS paid out approximately $13,890,697 of that amount.

Five other return preparers were sentenced for their roles in the scheme. On Sept. 3, Tiffany Moody was sentenced to 26 months in prison. On July 8, Shaneen Ray was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Eyoubo McBurney was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and Sylvia Swindell was sentenced to 16 months in prison. On July 9, Katrena Stanback was sentenced to six months in prison.

7) United States v. Gustavo Rojano Salazar, Gabriel Rojano Salazar, and Andres Huerta Rendon (Indictment) - $74,000,000 - Northern District of Georgia

Two brothers and a third man were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all arising out of a $74 million scheme to defraud the IRS through the filing of fraudulent tax returns. According to the indictment, the three men, who are Mexican citizens, obtained Mexican identification documents in the names of third parties. They used these identification documents to obtain Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) with the IRS used by an individual who was required to file a federal tax return, but who did not have or was not eligible to receive a Social Security number. After receiving the ITIN information, the co-conspirators prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns in the names of the Mexican ITIN holders. Each of these returns resulted in refunds, which the co-conspirators directed to be mailed to post office boxes they controlled. The co-conspirators then collected the resulting U.S. Treasury refund checks issued in the names of the Mexican ITIN holders and cashed them using a check cashing company. In total, the three co-conspirators and others cashed more than 16,000 U.S. Treasury tax refund checks worth over $74 million.

8) United States v. Pedro Cabrajal (Indictment) - $4,900,000 - District of New Jersey

New Jersey man charged with willful failure to account for and pay over employment taxes, tax evasion and willful failure to file income tax returns. According to the indictment, from 2012 to 2020, Pedro Carbajal, of Sparta, New Jersey, operated Option Staffing Services LLC, an employee-leasing business that was nominally owned by another individual. During this period, Carbajal allegedly did not file quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS or pay the required trust fund and unemployment taxes on behalf of his company's employees. Carbajal allegedly failed to pay over a total of approximately $4.9 million in taxes to the IRS.

9) United States v. Ninti El-Bey and Dexter Nigel Glasgow (Indictment) - $21,000,000 - Eastern District of New York

Two men were charged with filing false tax returns in the names of purported trusts that allegedly sought over $21 million in fraudulent refunds, ultimately receiving over $1 million from the IRS. The returns allegedly falsely reported large amounts of income tax withholdings to the IRS that resulted in large tax refunds to which they were not otherwise entitled. In furtherance of the scheme, El-Bey, Glasgow, and others allegedly submitted false documents to the IRS that supported the fraudulently claimed refunds and made false statements and representations to the IRS regarding the validity of the false returns

10) United States v. Jose Da Costa Gomez (Indictment) - No public loss announced - Southern District of Florida

Business owner charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing false tax returns with the IRS, wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud. According to the indictment, Da Costa Gomez was the owner of a series of businesses Da Costa Gomez and his family members allegedly used the companies' funds to pay tens of millions of dollars of personal expenses and failed to report those payments as income to the Internal Revenue Service. Da Costa Gomez and others also allegedly evaded Florida sales and use taxes on purchases by having items shipped out of Florida and then surreptitiously bringing them back to the state or submitting false resale certificates to sellers.

11) United States v. John Labee (Indictment) - $6,900,000 - Western District of Texas

Defendant charged with conspiring to file false claims and filing false claims. From approximately October 2021 through July 2022, Labee and co-conspirator Andrea Dotson allegedly agreed to have Labee prepare and file false tax returns on behalf of Dotson's business, Divine Grinde. Although Divine Grinde had minimal operations and no employees, Labee and Dotson allegedly conspired to file nine false tax returns that falsely claimed the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit based on completely fabricated wage and tax figures. Dotson previously pleaded guilty on March 10, 2026, for her role in the offense. In total, Labee and Dotson's fraudulent claims sought refunds of approximately $6.9 million, of which the IRS paid over $1.1 million. Dotson kept a portion of the tax refunds for herself and allegedly provided the remainder to Labee.

12) United States v. Pacifique Kashosi (Trial) - Loss to be determined at sentencing - District of Arizona

Phoenix tax preparer convicted at trial for aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns and filing false personal income tax returns. Kashosi prepared false tax returns for his clients that reported false Covid tax credits, false fuel credits and false business losses. The false tax returns claimed thousands of dollars in fraudulent refunds. In cases like this one, the intended loss is often millions of dollars and can result in significant prison time.

13) United States v. Marquis Al Bey (Guilty Plea) - $35,000,000 - District of Maryland

Marquis Al Bey, of Forney, Texas, pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, for his role in a tax refund fraud conspiracy that sought to obtain more than $35 million in fraudulent refunds through the filing of false tax returns. Bey prepared tax returns for clients, including clients located in Maryland, that sought large tax refunds that the individuals and entities listed on the returns were not entitled to receive. Bey charged clients for his tax return preparation services and, in some cases, required that clients agree to pay him a percentage of any resulting refund. As part of his plea, Bey admitted to preparing seven false returns between 2017 and 2021 for his co-defendant and another individual in Maryland that collectively sought more than $35 million from the Internal Revenue Service. Two of those returns resulted in the IRS issuing refunds totaling more than $10 million to Bey's clients.

14) United States v. LaMar Dazjar Burgess and LaMar Javis Burgess (Guilty Pleas) - $9,200,000 - District of Minnesota

Father and son, LaMar Javis Burgess and son LaMar Dazjar Burgess, participated in a scheme to fraudulently obtain tax refunds by filing false income tax returns based primarily on COVID-related sick and family leave credits, fuel tax credits, and false withholdings. For tax years 2022 and 2023 Javis and his son prepared and/or filed at least 300 false income tax returns claiming at least $9.2 million in fraudulent refunds.

15) United States v. Ronald Chrichlow and Gordon Chrichlow (Guilty Pleas) - $978,126 and $1,643,172 - District of New Jersey

Two brothers plead guilty to stealing more than $978,126 and $1,643,172, respectively, in tax refunds. Ronald Chrichlow and Gordon Chrichlow both filed a false 2022 Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, on behalf of their trusts. These Forms 1041 falsely reported that the trusts made tax payments to the IRS when they had not and claimed refunds as a result. In response to IRS collection efforts, the Chrichlow brothers mailed forms to the IRS on which they falsely claimed not to be residents of the United States and falsely claimed that their 2022 income was tax exempt pursuant to a tax treaty. The Chrichlow brothers also failed to file their personal income tax returns in some years, despite earning income and being legally obligated to file.

16) United States v. Lakeibia Fannin (Sentencing) - $1,400,000 - District of Nevada

Illinois woman sentenced to 13 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by making false claims for refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits. Lakeibia Fannin conspired with others, including Candies Goode-McCoy, from June 2022 through November 2023 to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on false Employee Retention Credits and Sick and Family Leave Credits. Fannin and her businesses were not eligible to receive these refundable credits in the amounts claimed. In total, Fannin claimed more than $3.5 million in fraudulent refunds, of which more than $1.4 million were paid.

17) United States v. McDonald Preval (Sentencing) - $4,200,000 - Southern District of Florida

Florida man was sentenced to 36 months in prison for filing a false tax return on behalf of a trust he controlled as part of a $4.2 million refund fraud scheme.

McDonald Preval, of Miami, filed a number of false tax returns for himself and trusts he claimed to control. The trust tax returns reported that the trusts had earned significant income and made tax withholding payments to the IRS, purportedly entitling the trusts to large tax refunds. In fact, the trusts did not have the claimed income and did not make payments in the amounts claimed on the returns and therefore were not entitled to the refunds Preval claimed. He also filed tax returns for 2023 that did not include the income from his employment. The false tax returns Preval caused to be filed on behalf of purported trusts and himself collectively sought tax refunds totaling more than $4.2 million. Preval obtained more than $580,000 from his scheme, which he used to pay off the mortgage loan on his house and other personal expenses.

Federal Partners Represented at the 2026 Tax Fraud Surge Event

U.S. Attorney Partners (In-Person Attendance):

U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney Kevin Holmes for the Western District of Arkansas

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. Attorney David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio

IRS Partners (In-Person Attendance):

IRS CEO Frank Bisignano

IRS-CI Chief Jarod Koopman

IRS-CI Deputy Chief Gary Shapley

U.S. Attorneys' Office Whose Districts Participated in the Tax Fraud Surge (35):

District of Alaska, District of Arizona, Western District of Arkansas, District of Colorado, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, District of Kansas, Eastern District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, District of Maryland, District of Maine, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, District of Minnesota, Southern District of Mississippi, Western District of Missouri, Eastern District of North Carolina, District of New Jersey, District of Nevada, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Northern District of Ohio, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Oregon, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, District of Rhode Island, District of South Carolina, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Northern District of West Virginia.

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On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

An indictment, information, or complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.