U.S. Attorney's Office, North Carolina, Eastern, "Eight North Carolina Tax Return Preparers Plead Guilty in Almost $25M Pandemic-Relief Fraud Scheme" (June 24, 2026)
Summary
Press release of June 24, 2026 from the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, issued from Wilmington, reporting that the 48-year-old owner of a tax return preparation business operating out of Lumberton and Hope Mills pleaded guilty to conspiring to prepare false returns claiming fraudulent refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits. From approximately April 2022 through May 2023 she and seven employees filed false returns, and the IRS paid out approximately $13,890,697 in fraudulent refund claims. She faces up to eight years in prison and a $500,000 fine and will be ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $13,890,697.00; the seven other preparers pleaded guilty between August 2025 and May 2026. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea in Case No. 7:26-CR-38-M.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“U.S. Attorney's Office, North Carolina, Eastern, ‘Eight North Carolina Tax Return Preparers Plead Guilty in Almost $25M Pandemic-Relief Fraud Scheme’ (June 24, 2026).”
Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-attorney-s-office-north-carolina-eastern-eight-north-carolina-tax-b5442a6702/
, SHA-256 03a84c4e8419a0cca95cbc23c5180bea46c4cc1115904346927cfcdc50ab56c9.Full text
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Robeson County woman who was the owner of a North Carolina tax return preparation business pleaded guilty to conspiring to prepare false returns claiming fraudulent refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits, and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Mitchell, 48, faces a maximum term of eight years in prison, and a $500,000 fine when sentenced later this year. She will also be ordered to pay a Forfeiture Money Judgment of $13,890,697.00. Seven other tax return preparers have already pleaded guilty for their roles in the same fraud scheme. According to court documents and statements made in court, Nejlai Mitchell owned and operated a tax return preparation business out of Lumberton, North Carolina, and Hope Mills, North Carolina. From approximately April 2022 through May 2023, Mitchell and seven employees filed false tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits. As a result of the conspiracy, the IRS paid out approximately $13,890,697 in fraudulent tax refund claims. Seven other co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty to preparing federal tax returns for clients that included materially false items. Tiffany Moody and Shaneen Ray pleaded guilty in December 2025; Eyoubo McBurney and Katrena Stanback pleaded guilty in September 2025; Jeannie Negron and Sylvia Swindell pleaded guilty in August 2025, and Whitnee Leach pleaded guilty in May 2026. Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea. IRS-CI is investigating the case. A copy of this press release is located on our website . Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:26-CR-38-M.
File and source
- File
- doj-usao-ednc-press-release-eight-north-carolina-tax-return-preparers-plead-guilty-almost-2026-06-24.json
- Size
- 3,626 bytes
- SHA-256
- 03a84c4e8419a0cca95cbc23c5180bea46c4cc1115904346927cfcdc50ab56c9
- Original
- www.justice.gov