Eight North Carolina tax preparers plead guilty in $25 million COVID tax credit fraud scheme
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Robeson County woman has pleaded guilty in connection with a large-scale fraud scheme that resulted in nearly $14 million in fraudulent pandemic-related tax refunds being paid out by the IRS.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 48-year-old Nejlai Mitchell, owner of a tax preparation business with locations in Lumberton and Hope Mills, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to prepare false tax returns and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.
Federal prosecutors say Mitchell and seven employees filed fraudulent tax returns between April 2022 and May 2023, claiming COVID-19-related tax credits that clients were not entitled to receive. The false returns led the IRS to issue approximately $13.9 million in fraudulent refunds.
Authorities say the overall scheme involved nearly $25 million in fraudulent pandemic-relief tax claims.
Mitchell faces up to eight years in federal prison and a fine of up to $500,000 when she is sentenced later this year. She will also be required to forfeit nearly $13.9 million.
Seven other tax preparers involved in the scheme have already pleaded guilty. Those individuals include Tiffany Moody, Shaneen Ray, Eyoubo McBurney, Katrena Stanback, Jeannie Negron, Sylvia Swindell, and Whitnee Leach.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle announced the plea after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted Mitchell’s guilty plea in federal court. The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Court records show the case is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
