2 Tax Preparers Charged Over $65 Million In False COVID-19 Relief Claims

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two tax preparers submitted $65 million in false claims for refunds under programs designed to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal prosecutors in Tennessee said Wednesday.

A federal grand jury indicted Renata Walton, 44, and Nicole Jones, 36, on more than 50 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, preparing false tax returns and obstruction of justice, the U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said in a news release.

Walton and Jones, of Olive Branch, Mississippi, pleaded not guilty on Monday and were each released on $100,000 bond. Court records do not list lawyers for them, and their tax preparation business is closed “for the season,” according to a phone message at the number for R&B Tax Express in Moscow, Tennessee.

Prosecutors said Walton and Jones filed for tax credits for their clients under the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit, but their clients were not entitled to them. The clients received six-figure tax refunds, and they paid Walton and Jones large fees that they laundered through local banks, the indictment said.

The Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit for certain eligible businesses and organizations that had employees and were affected during the pandemic. The Sick and Family Leave Credit provided tax credits to employers for wages paid for leave taken by workers who needed to recover from injury, disability, illness or conditions related to vaccinations.

Walton is also charged with submitting false Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications to the Small Business Administration.

“In total, Walton and Jones filed fraudulent claims seeking over $65 million dollars,” the news release said.

Both tax preparers were “put on notice” that the federal government was investigating them, but they continued to file false returns, the indictment said. Walton also encouraged her tax clients not to speak with Internal Revenue Service agents, the indictment said.

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This story has been corrected to say that Walton and Jones pleaded not guilty on Monday.