A Las Vegas woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by submitting fraudulent tax refund claims for COVID-19 employment tax credits, securing $33 million in improper payouts from the IRS.

According to court documents, Candies Goode-McCoy conspired with others from June 2022 through September 2023 to file approximately 1,227 fraudulent tax returns claiming refundable employment tax credits, including the employee retention credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit. The total fraudulent claims amounted to over $98 million, with the IRS disbursing approximately $33 million before the scheme was uncovered.

McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid approximately $800,000 by others whose returns she filed. Prosecutors stated she knowingly submitted false claims and used the illicit proceeds for luxury cars, casino gambling, vacations, and other high-end purchases.

The ERC and paid sick and family leave credits were introduced by Congress to support businesses impacted by COVID-19, providing tax relief for wages paid to employees unable to work due to the pandemic. The fraudulent claims exploited these relief programs, diverting funds from businesses that genuinely qualified for assistance.

McCoy is scheduled for sentencing on February 23, 2026, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada announced the guilty plea.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John C. Gerardi of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez for the District of Nevada.

This article, “Nevada Woman Admits to Fraudulently Seeking Nearly $100M in COVID-19 Tax Credits” was first published on Small Business Trends