Florida man pleads guilty in $4.2 million tax refund fraud scheme
Key Points(5)
- A Florida man has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return as part of a scheme that sought more than $4.2 million in fraudulent tax refunds, the U.S.
- Department of Justice said Monday.
- McDonald Preval of Miami admitted to filing a false tax return on behalf of a trust he controlled, according to court documents and statements made in court.
- Prosecutors said Preval filed multiple false tax returns for himself and purported trusts he controlled.
- The returns claimed that the trusts had earned substantial income and made tax withholding payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which allegedly entitled them to large refunds.
A Florida man has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return as part of a scheme that sought more than $4.2 million in fraudulent tax refunds, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.
McDonald Preval of Miami admitted to filing a false tax return on behalf of a trust he controlled, according to court documents and statements made in court.
Prosecutors said Preval filed multiple false tax returns for himself and purported trusts he controlled. The returns claimed that the trusts had earned substantial income and made tax withholding payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which allegedly entitled them to large refunds.
However, investigators found that the trusts did not earn the reported income or make the claimed payments, meaning they were not eligible for the refunds sought.
Preval also filed 2023 tax returns that failed to report income from his employment, authorities said.
The fraudulent returns filed by Preval, either on his own behalf or for the purported trusts, collectively sought tax refunds totaling more than $4.2 million.
Preval pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
He could also face supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Kavitha Bondada of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Tax Section, are prosecuting the case.
