Long Island Tax Preparer Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Nearly $12 Million Tax Fraud Scheme

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Damaris Beltre, a former tax preparer in Freeport, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to 48 months' imprisonment following her plea earlier this year to two counts of wire fraud and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. At her plea proceeding, Beltre also admitted to defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through false COVID aid applications in her capacity as a company owner. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Bulsara ordered Beltre to pay restitution in the amount of $11,629,000.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI New York) announced the sentence.

"Beltre conducted a massive fraud on the government by falsifying documents and brazenly lying in order to line her own pockets with taxpayer money," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "Today's sentencing should serve as a warning to corrupt tax preparers that federal programs and the treasury are not ATMs that they can loot with impunity, and also that the price to pay for such brazen conduct is a prison sentence."

Mr. Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the United States Customs and Border Protection, New York Field Office, the Freeport Police Department, and SBA for their assistance on the case.

"IRS-CI remains committed to investigating and bringing unscrupulous return preparers like Beltre to justice. Beltre's fraudulent tax filings and claims of bogus credit undermine the integrity of our entire tax system. Beltre's fraudulent PPP loans which she used to buy a home in the Dominican Republic are the antithesis of what these funds were intended for. These loans were meant to assist honest, hardworking Americans during an unprecedented time of hardship in our country, not to aid those trying to enrich their lives through deception. Today's sentence sends a clear message to those who try to take advantage of our systems for their own personal gain," stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

As set forth in public filings and court proceedings, including at the defendant's guilty plea proceeding in January 2026 and at today's sentencing proceeding, Beltre owned and operated multiple corporate entities offering tax preparation and other financial services in Freeport, New York. From approximately January 2021 through April 2024, Beltre personally prepared, and supervised employees in the preparation of, false and fraudulent individual income tax returns for her taxpayer-clients, which were submitted to the IRS.

The tax returns that Beltre prepared and caused to be prepared for her clients listed false dependents and fraudulently claimed tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19-related tax credits and motor fuel income tax credits to directly reduce tax liability and provide substantial refunds to which her clients were not entitled. Beltre's clients paid more than $1 million in fees for her services preparing these false returns, which included a percentage of any tax refund issued. For example, in April 2023, a federal agent acting in an undercover capacity (the UC) hired Beltre to prepare his individual income tax return. If prepared accurately, the UC would have owed the IRS approximately $205. By contrast, Beltre prepared an income tax return for the UC which contained false and fraudulent statements and baseless tax credits, and which thereby claimed a refund of over $14,243. Beltre charged the UC $2,200 in fees to prepare and submit the fraudulent tax return. As a result of this years' long scheme, the IRS improperly issued nearly $11 million in tax refunds to Beltre's clients, and failed to collect several million dollars as a result of fraudulently reduced tax liabilities.

In a separate Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud scheme, from approximately April 2020 through July 2022, Beltre filed and caused to be filed false payroll reports and income tax returns with the IRS on behalf of her corporate clients to fraudulently obtain PPP loans from the SBA, totaling approximately $1 million. Beltre used these proceeds, and those generated from the tax preparer fraud scheme described above, for personal expenses, including paying personal debts, to fund a home in the Caribbean, and to purchase a car and jewelry.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (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.

The government's case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office's Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorney Charles P. Kelly is in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder, Legal Assistant Danielle Rompel and Victim Witness Coordinator Stephanie Marroquin.

The Defendant:

DAMARIS BELTRE
Age: 59
Freeport, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-081 (SJB)