Sandston business owner pleads guilty to filing false tax returns

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia, dated March 4, 2026. A Sandston man, Kevin Alphonso Starlings, pled guilty to subscribing to a false tax return and wire fraud. According to court documents cited in the release, Starlings issued Forms W-2 from his own businesses to himself and, for calendar years 2016 through 2022, filed false Forms 1040 reporting that $827,290 had been withheld and paid to the IRS. The release also says that from April 2020 through at least September 2021 Starlings submitted false applications for unemployment funds and for Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16, and the release gives Case No. 3:26-cr-21.

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PRESS RELEASE


Sandston business owner pleads guilty
to filing false tax returns and fraudulent
pandemic relief applications
Wednesday, March 4, 2026

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia


RICHMOND, Va. – A Sandston man pled guilty today to subscribing to a false tax return
and wire fraud.

According to court documents, Kevin Alphonso Starlings, 40, was the sole owner and
operator of several businesses, including Jeremiah Enterprises, Starlings Enterprises, The
Service Sharks, ProSource Property Solutions, and Jeremiah Entertainment LLC. Starlings
issued Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statements from his five businesses to himself,
purportedly reflecting the wages, tips, and other compensation he was paid, and the trust
fund taxes and federal income tax that were purportedly withheld and paid over to the
IRS on his behalf.

For calendar years 2016 through 2022, Starlings filed false Forms 1040 falsely reporting,
among other things, that his companies had withheld hundreds of thousands of dollars
in federal tax from his income and that he had paid those funds to the IRS. In total, for
years 2016 through 2022, Starlings falsely reported that he had withheld and paid to the
IRS $827,290. None of Starlings’ companies made any withholding or payment of federal
taxes to the IRS on Starlings’ behalf for those years.

From April 2020 through at least September 2021, Starlings fraudulently obtained COVID-
19 relief funds by submitting false and misleading applications to the Small Business
Administration (SBA), Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), and North Carolina
Division of Employment Security (DES).

For example, despite owning and operating his companies and reporting on his tax return
that he earned $628,450 in wages in 2020, Starlings filed unemployment applications with
the VEC and DES falsely claiming that he was laid off, terminated, or separated from his
employment on March 20, 2020. Unaware of Starlings’ fraud, the VEC and DES approved
the fraudulent applications      and    Starlings   received   approximately   $61,726    in
unemployment funds.

Starlings also submitted fraudulent applications SBA for loans through the Economic
Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, intended to enable small businesses to meet financial
obligations and operating expenses during the pandemic. Starlings submitted 11 EIDL
applications for his businesses with misrepresentations including false gross revenue and
costs and inflated or fabricated employee counts. Most of Starlings’ EIDL applications
were rejected by the SBA, but one application was approved causing the agency to
disburse $15,000 to Starlings.

Starlings is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16. He faces up to 30 years in prison. A
federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General,
investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla Jordan-Detamore is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the
website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching
for Case No. 3:26-cr-21.

Contact
USAVAE.Press@usdoj.gov

Updated March 4, 2026


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