Suburban Chicago tax preparer indicted for allegedly preparing more than 25 fraudulent tax returns

Date: Feb. 10, 2026

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CHICAGO - A woman has been indicted in federal court for allegedly preparing more than 25 fraudulent tax returns for clients of her suburban Chicago tax preparation business.

From 2020 to 2024, Jaydine Brown prepared and assisted in the preparation of 26 false and fraudulent tax returns on behalf of clients of her business, Hall Tax & Services Corp. of Flossmoor, Ill., according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Brown helped prepare federal tax returns that fraudulently overstated and misrepresented tax credits, deductions, income, and expenses in order to fraudulently reduce the taxpayers' tax liability and claim refund amounts to which they were not entitled, the indictment states. Brown also filed an individual tax return for herself in 2021 that substantially underreported her income, the indictment states. She also failed to file a corporate tax return for her business for the tax year 2022, the indictment alleges.

Brown of Chicago Heights, Ill., is charged with 26 counts of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation of false or fraudulent tax returns, one count of making false or fraudulent statements on a tax return, and one count of willful failure to file a tax return. Brown pleaded not guilty to the charges during her arraignment on Friday in federal court in Chicago. A status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Adam Jobes, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Asheeka Desai.

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.