Date: March 25, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Washington - An indictment was unsealed on March 18, 2026, charging a married couple and their associate with a scheme to defraud the IRS out of more than $700,000.

The following is according to the indictment: Tara Abraham and Tzephanyah Abraham, of Hixson, Tennessee, and Fola Mborika Will I Am El, of Killeen, Texas, were members of a purported tribal organization called the League of Indian Nations of North America. According to the indictment, beginning in approximately Aug. 2020, Tara Abraham (a/k/a Tara Lyn Pruitt), Tzephanyah Abraham (a/k/a Steven Williams, a/k/a Chief Tall Bear), and Fola Mborika Will I Am El (a/k/a Paulette Williams) conspired together to file a fraudulent income tax return on behalf of a purported trust called Mother Earth Trust and then launder the resulting refund proceeds by purchasing a house and two vehicles.

As part of the scheme, Tara Abraham allegedly filed a false trust tax return for Mother Earth Trust seeking a refund of more than $700,000 based on false purported payments to the IRS of more than $1.1 million. After the IRS issued a refund check of $710,621.58 to the trust, Fola Mborika Will I Am El allegedly deposited the check into a Texas bank account. The indictment alleges that Tzephanyah Abraham then used more than $560,000 of the refund proceeds to purchase a house in Hixson where he subsequently lived with Tara Abraham, as well as two vehicles, a pickup truck and a minivan.

Finally, the indictment alleges that Tzephanyah Abraham owned and operated a commercial cleaning business for which he received income each year from 2020 to 2024. Even though he was required to file an individual tax return, Tzephanyah Abraham willfully failed to file tax returns for each of those years.

The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Tara Abraham is also charged with one count of filing a false tax return. Tzephanyah Abraham is also charged with two counts of money laundering and five counts of willful failure to file tax returns.

If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge. Tara Abraham faces up to three years in prison for the false tax return charge. Tzephanyah Abraham faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering and up to one year in prison for each count of failure to file a tax return. The defendants also face a period of supervised release, restitution, monetary penalties, and forfeiture of the house and vehicles. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Alexis Hughes of the Criminal Division's Tax Section are prosecuting the case.

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

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.