Oh snap; blood-testing lab; warning letters; and other highlights of recent tax cases.
Processing Content
Arlington, Texas: A Texas family and their Mississippi associate have been sentenced to federal prison after a jury convicted them of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar tax refund fraud scheme that defrauded the IRS.
Brandon Hunt, of Arlington, received a 90-month federal prison sentence. Hunt was the fourth defendant sentenced in the case. His father, David Hunt, previously received 92 months; his half-brother, Corey Burt, formerly of Long Beach, Mississippi, received 94 months; and his twin brother, Baylon Hunt, received 38 months.
The four men filed false tax returns in the names of trusts they controlled, seeking more than $8.5 million in refunds the trusts were not entitled to receive. Brandon Hunt also filed multiple fraudulent returns in his own name. To further the scheme, the conspirators submitted falsified financial instruments and altered money orders to the IRS, and continued filing false returns even after receiving agency warning letters directing them to stop.
The scheme ultimately generated more than $1.7 million in fraudulent proceeds from the IRS, which the men used to purchase luxury goods, furniture, cryptocurrency, a Cadillac Escalade and a house in Mississippi.
All four defendants were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Brandon Hunt, David Hunt and Corey Burt were each convicted on multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns; Baylon Hunt was acquitted on two such counts. In addition to his prison term, Brandon Hunt was ordered to pay $1,774,864 in restitution.
Oxon Hill, Maryland: A Maryland woman pleaded guilty to attempting to steal more than $1.1 million in government funds by filing false tax returns with the IRS.
Between December 2019 and March 2020, Kendra Scarborough, of Oxon Hill, filed three false tax returns in the names of purported trusts that she controlled. In total, these tax returns sought more than $1.1 million in refunds that the trusts were not entitled to receive. Scarborough’s scheme resulted in the IRS issuing a refund of $412,000 to one of the purported trusts. Scarborough used these funds to pay for, among other things, the mortgage on her personal residence.
Scarborough pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
Baltimore: A Maryland man pleaded guilty in federal court to false-claims, identity theft and wire-fraud crimes in connection with a tax fraud and unemployment insurance fraud conspiracy.
Daiwor “Mark Brown” Woah-Tee, 53, of Belcamp, Maryland, is charged with conspiracy to submit false, fictitious and fraudulent claims to the IRS and wire fraud conspiracy stemming from a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in January 2018, and continuing until December 2024, Woah-Tee and his conspirators knowingly and willfully conspired to defraud the U.S. and the Department of the Treasury. The co-conspirators filed fraudulent Form 1040s seeking tax refunds from the IRS through fictitious claims based on fraudulent material representations.
Woah-Tee used the information obtained from individuals to prepare tax filings with the IRS. Then he and the co-conspirators filed or caused the filing of false tax returns, which contained fabricated information regarding the taxpayer’s dependents, income, education expenses and eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
The co-conspirators caused the IRS to deposit funds into bank accounts that they controlled and then caused the IRS to deliver treasury checks to addresses they controlled. As a result, the co-conspirators obtained tax refunds they were not entitled to in connection with submitting tax returns in which they illegally sought at least $3.5 million in refunds.
Woah-Tee agreed to restitution to the IRS of $3.5 million and restitution to the Maryland Department of Labor of $550,000. He also agreed to a forfeiture of approximately $4 million.
Woah-Tee is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to submit false, fictitious and fraudulent claims to the IRS; 20 years for wire fraud conspiracy; and two years for aggravated identity theft.
Bridgeport, Connecticut: A Danbury daycare and preschool owner pleaded guilty to failing to pay more than $630,000 in employment taxes to the IRS.
Thomas Walker, 63, of Ridgefield, owned and operated New England Country Day School. Walker knew that he had a legal duty to collect and account for income taxes that were owed by the employees of the NECDS, and to pay over those withholdings to the IRS on a quarterly basis, along with the employees’ share of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Beginning at least as early as 2018 through 2024, Walker failed to file the required employment tax forms and willfully failed to make most of the related payments of withholding taxes on behalf of NECDS, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $639,158 to the IRS.
The charge of willful failure to account for and pay over taxes carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 31.
Boston: Victor Suazo Reynoso, 69, pleaded guilty to illegal acquisition of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and false representation of a Social Security number. Reynoso used the name, birthdate and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen to apply for and receive a Massachusetts driver’s license and more than $18,000 in SNAP benefits.
The charge of illegal acquisition of SNAP benefits provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as restitution. The charge of false representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Los Angeles: A Burbank man was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for evading the payment of more than $11.2 million in federal taxes by using a shill to illegally collect Medicare reimbursement payments made to his blood-testing company, and to fraudulently obtaining nearly $100,000 in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 business relief.
Armen Muradyan, 60, was sentenced and ordered to pay $15,158,033 in restitution.
Muradyan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.
Muradyan owned and operated a Burbank-based blood testing laboratory called Genex Laboratories Inc. Medicare and bank records showed that Medicare paid millions of dollars in reimbursements to Genex for blood testing. The reimbursements were wired to bank accounts in the name of an individual identified in court documents as “L.S.” — Muradyan’s long-time friend to whom Muradyan had offered to pay $2,000 per month to pretend to be Genex’s owner.
Muradyan told L.S. that he needed him to submit Medicare enrollment papers to Medicare on Genex’s behalf because Medicare had banned Muradyan from submitting claims.
L.S. and Muradyan opened bank accounts for Genex in L.S.’s name, but which Muradyan controlled. L.S. neither owned nor operated Genex and visited the company’s Burbank office to collect his $2,000 monthly payment and to sometimes sign documents at Muradyan’s direction. Muradyan used the proceeds from the health care fraud conspiracy to pay the mortgage on a property he owned as well as to support his gambling habit and to pay personal expenses.
In total, Muradyan’s unreported federal taxable income was approximately $23,915,762, resulting in a total federal income tax due of approximately $11,236,356 plus prejudgment interest of $3,921,677.
Elmer, New Jersey: An Elmer, New Jersey, businessman admitted to income tax evasion, failing to pay payroll taxes to the IRS and fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan.
Zackary Sulpizi, 30, of Sewell, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to income tax evasion, failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes, and bank fraud resulting from his fraudulent loan.
Previously, on April 1, 2026, Sulpizi’s father, William Brent Stephens, 58, pleaded guilty to income tax evasion, failing to collect, account for and pay over payroll taxes, bankruptcy fraud and providing false statements to the IRS.
Sulpizi was part-owner of BZS Contracting Inc., which was doing business as Stephens Contracting Inc. in Elmer. Stephens Contracting provided landscaping and construction services.
Sulpizi admitted that he opened business and personal bank accounts at several financial institutions and used those bank accounts to withdraw cash to pay biweekly cash payroll. Sulpizi deposited customer checks into his personal bank accounts and cashed business checks against those accounts to pay payroll.
Sulpizi admitted that for tax years 2019 through 2022, he paid his employees approximately $446,573 in cash wages and that he willfully failed to file payroll tax returns and failed to pay over $34,162 in employment taxes on behalf of his employees.
Sulpizi further admitted that for the years 2019 through 2022, when he filed his income tax returns with the IRS, he failed to report approximately $389,650 that he had received in income from his business.
In addition to Sulpizi defrauding the IRS, Sulpizi also submitted a fraudulent application to a lender to obtain a PPP loan, resulting in bank fraud.
The charges of income tax evasion and failing to collect, account for and pay over payroll taxes each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The charge of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Sulpizi agreed to make restitution to the IRS in the full amount of the taxes that he owes, and he also agreed to make restitution to the lender in the full amount of the PPP loan. Sulpizi’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2026.
Wilmington, Delaware: A federal jury convicted a South Carolina man and an Oregon woman for their roles in a fraud scheme that generated more than $9.1 million in disaster-relief loans for dozens of businesses across the country.
Devlon Porter, 51, conspired with Jady Solano, a Wilmington tax preparer, to submit fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans. The applications falsely claimed that the companies maintained substantial annual payrolls exceeding $1 million and relied on fabricated tax forms. As a result of the scheme, Porter received over $287,000 in wrongful disbursements, paid Solano more than $50,000 in kickbacks, and never repaid the loans. Porter was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Porter faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for his bank-fraud conspiracy conviction and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for his money-laundering conspiracy conviction.
Amber Baldwin of Oregon received over $280,000 after Solano submitted a PPP loan application falsely claiming a shell company she owned had an annual payroll exceeding $1 million. Like Porter’s applications, Baldwin’s submission relied on false tax documents. Baldwin never repaid her loan and paid over $95,000 in kickbacks to co-conspirators. The jury convicted Baldwin of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Credit: Source link
