Six people connected to a Mobile, Alabama tax-preparation business have been indicted and arrested in an alleged scheme that filed more than 9,000 false federal tax returns seeking over $177 million in refunds — of which the Internal Revenue Service actually paid out about $81 million — the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama announced on Wednesday, October 28.
At the centre of the case is Jennifer Beverly, 47, of Mobile, who owned and operated JB Accounting Tax Service LLC, a tax-preparation business on Broad Street that provided services in Mobile from approximately 2022 through 2024, according to the indictment. WALA reported the business's Broad Street location.
The five other defendants were Beverly's employees, prosecutors said: Jadasha Bowman, 28; Kennedy Lawrence Stovall Winston, 42; Solida Lucille Green, 36; Paris Lovett, also known as Paris Johnson, 30; and Shermeka Benjamin, 38. All six are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and each also faces individual wire-fraud counts — 63 for Beverly, 11 each for Bowman, Green and Lovett, five for Winston and four for Benjamin.
WALA reported that Winston is a former University of Alabama basketball star who attended Blount High School, and that he also faces an unrelated federal fraud charge connected to stolen Treasury checks. That separate charge is distinct from the tax case described in Wednesday's indictment.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
The indictment alleges that from approximately 2021 through 2024 the defendants prepared and submitted false and fraudulent federal tax returns to the IRS. The allegedly false items included Schedule C business statements, COVID-19 credits, fuel tax credits, credit repayments, estimated tax payments, Schedule A statements, Schedule 3 statements and education credits — a menu of deductions and credits that, prosecutors say, was manipulated to manufacture refunds the filers were not entitled to receive.
"The allegations in this case reveal a staggering abuse of the federal tax system, involving more than 9,000 allegedly fraudulent tax returns, over $177 million in refund claims, and approximately $81 million in refunds issued," said Maisha Horton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's Atlanta Field Office. "Tax return preparers are entrusted with sensitive financial information and have a responsibility to uphold the integrity of our nation's tax system, not exploit it for personal financial gain."
"Today's coordinated arrests highlight the strong partnership between the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation," said Christopher R. Flowers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Mobile Field Office. "These allegations involve a serious breach of trust, and our agencies worked closely to identify the extent of the fraudulent activity and ensure accountability."
Forfeiture, penalties and the wider fraud crackdown
The indictment includes a forfeiture notice identifying assets prosecutors may seek if the defendants are convicted: money judgments representing the proceeds each defendant allegedly obtained, as well as 12 real properties belonging to one or more of the defendants. If convicted, the defendants face the penalties authorised by law for the offences, including imprisonment, supervised release, fines, special assessments and restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The investigation was led by the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division — created on April 7 — together with the IRS, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, and forms part of the department's support for President Donald Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance. The Mobile case also lands in a national spotlight on preparer fraud: an inspector-general report covered this month by the Journal of Accountancy linked so-called ghost preparers to $179 million in potentially fraudulent refund claims over two years.
Paid preparers hold your Social Security number, income records and bank details. The IRS advises taxpayers to check a preparer's credentials, never sign a blank return, and review every line before a return is filed — because legally, you are responsible for what is on your return even when someone else prepares it.
What happens next
The six defendants were arrested in coordinated operations and will face the federal court process in the Southern District of Alabama, beginning with initial appearances and arraignment, where they can enter pleas. Prosecutors have not publicly detailed how much money each defendant allegedly received personally. An indictment is merely an allegation: all six defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.