北卡罗来纳州报税行老板骗取近2400万美元新冠退税 获刑5年、没收1389万美元
Wilmington—美国司法部11月9日宣布，北卡罗来纳州报税行老板 Nejlai Mitchell（48岁）因合谋炮制虚假报税表、骗取新冠疫情税收抵免退税，被联邦法院判处5年监禁，法院同时判令没收13,890,697美元。检方称，整个团伙经手的欺诈退税总额接近2400万美元，同案已有7名同伙认罪、其中5人已经判刑。
据司法部通报，Mitchell 在 Lumberton 与 Hope Mills 两地经营报税行。2022年4月至2023年5月间，她与7名雇员利用国会为扶助困难企业设立的新冠带薪病假与家庭假抵免，批量提交虚假报税表，索取接近2400万美元的欺诈退税。仅 Mitchell 本人的行为，就使国税局（IRS）实际发出约13,890,697美元欺诈退税，占团伙总额的一半以上。
Mitchell 此前已就合谋罪与协助炮制、提交虚假报税表认罪。其报税行的办公室经理 Whitnee Leach 已于2026年5月认罪，其余6名被告也已就为客户炮制、提交虚假报税表认罪。
同案另外5名同伙此前已分别获刑：Tiffany Moody 于2026年9月3日被判两年以上监禁；Shaneen Ray 与 Eyoubo McBurney 于7月8日各被判18个月；Sylvia Swindell 被判16个月；Katrena Stanback 于7月9日被判6个月。
北卡罗来纳东区联邦检察官 Ellis Boyle 表示，这笔近2400万美元的欺诈退税不是疏忽或失误，而是被告蓄意窃取本应用来帮助北卡东部困难居民的新冠资金、中饱私囊。判决由联邦首席地区法官 Richard E. Myers II 宣判，案件由国税局刑事调查局（IRS-CI）侦办，案号为 7:26-CR-38-M。
（来源：美国司法部）
North Carolina Tax Preparer Sentenced to 5 Years for Nearly $24 Million COVID Tax Credit Fraud; $13.89 Million Forfeiture Ordered
WILMINGTON, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 9 that Nejlai Mitchell, 48, a North Carolina tax return preparation business owner, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to prepare false tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits, and for assisting in the preparation of additional fake returns. The court also ordered her to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $13,890,697. Prosecutors said the scheme generated almost $24 million in fraudulent refunds in total; seven co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and five have already been sentenced.
According to the Justice Department, Mitchell owned and operated tax return preparation offices in Lumberton and Hope Mills. From April 2022 through May 2023, Mitchell and seven of her employees filed false tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds of almost $24 million by exploiting paid sick and family leave credits, a COVID-19 relief measure enacted by Congress to support struggling businesses. Mitchell's actions alone caused the IRS to issue approximately $13,890,697 in fraudulent tax refunds, more than half of the nearly $24 million channeled through the conspiracy.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to preparing and filing false tax returns. The business's office manager, Whitnee Leach, pleaded guilty in May 2026, and the remaining six defendants pleaded guilty to preparing and filing false tax returns for clients.
Five other co-conspirators have already received federal prison sentences: Tiffany Moody was sentenced on September 3, 2026, to over two years; Shaneen Ray and Eyoubo McBurney were each sentenced on July 8 to 18 months; Sylvia Swindell was sentenced to 16 months; and Katrena Stanback was sentenced on July 9 to six months.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle for the Eastern District of North Carolina said the nearly $24 million in fraudulent refunds were not the result of mistakes or oversight, and that Mitchell and her co-conspirators deliberately stole COVID money intended to help struggling Eastern North Carolinians. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II handed down the sentence. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case, No. 7:26-CR-38-M.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国司法部总部大楼入口（G. Edward Johnson 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons；GSM 固定图库）。 / Photo: Entrance of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; GSM asset library).
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