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Renata Walton

Defendant

ERC
Type
Person
Role
Defendant
Programs
ERC
Updated

The profile

Owner of R&B Tax Express in Moscow, Tennessee, who pleaded guilty in March 2026 to a scheme that claimed nearly $80 million in Employee Retention Credits, sick-leave credits and SBA loans for herself and her clients, causing a loss of more than $52 million. Clients' refunds often exceeded $100,000; her fee was typically about $15,000 a return.

Identity and role

Renata Walton, 45 at her plea and living in Mississippi, owned and operated R&B Tax Express, a tax-preparation business in Moscow, Tennessee, according to the indictment and the Justice Department. She and one of her employees, Nicole Jones, also known as Nicole Dickerson, of Cordova, Tennessee, were indicted in United States v. Walton and Jones, No. 2:24-cr-20213 (W.D. Tenn.).

The scheme and pandemic-relief role

From about March 2022 through August 2023, the Justice Department says, Walton and Jones reported fictitious wages on clients' tax returns to claim the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and the paid sick and family leave credits. They knew the clients had not paid wages in those amounts. Clients received ERC refunds "often exceeding $100,000," and paid Walton and Jones a fee "typically around $15,000 per return." The indictment's wire-fraud counts list returns such as a 2021 Form 944 for "D&K Hair Collection" claiming a $129,661 refund.

Walton also filed false PPP and EIDL applications with the Small Business Administration, supported by false tax forms. When the IRS began contacting clients to recover the money, she gave them letters for the IRS "falsely asserting, among other things, that the fictitious wages" were legitimate. The indictment says she encouraged clients not to speak with IRS agents. Neither she nor Jones filed a 2022 tax return.

The totals changed between charge and plea. The November 2024 indictment put the schemes at more than $65 million sought. At the plea, the department said Walton filed returns and other documents claiming "nearly $80 million," causing a loss to the United States of "more than $52 million."

  • Indicted: November 21, 2024, on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, aiding and assisting false returns and willful failure to file; Walton was also charged with obstruction.
  • Pleaded guilty: March 10, 2026. Nicole Jones pleaded guilty on August 15, 2025.
  • Sentencing: set for June 18, 2026 in the plea release. We found no sentence for Walton in the public record through September 2026. On September 8, 2026 the court reset Jones's sentencing to January 27, 2027.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

Walton awaited sentencing at the time of the last record we found.

Sources

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