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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Memphis, TN – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Memphis woman with helping prepare false tax returns for clients and tampering with witnesses in the government’s investigation. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant, for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the indictment.According to the indictment: From at least 2018 through 2024, Selma Brinson, 64, owned and operated a tax preparation business that she used to report false items on clients’ tax returns to generate inflated tax refunds. Among other false items, Brinson allegedly reported false fuel tax credits and false claims for…

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Nevada man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and helping file false federal returns for clients just months after pleading guilty to related charges in a separate case.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Michael J. Moore, of Las Vegas, operated a tax and accounting business known as X Tax Pros that he used to promote an illegal tax avoidance scheme. Moore advertised X Tax Pros as being the “only” tax and bookkeeping company specializing in clients from the adult entertainment industry. From approximately August 2025 through October 2025, Moore promised clients he could file tax returns that would eliminate the taxes they owed to the IRS; in fact, the returns he prepared for clients typically resulted in large tax refunds that the clients were not entitled to receive. To carry out the scheme, Moore created fraudulent entries on his clients’ tax returns, including purported losses from business entities belonging to other clients. In most cases, the entities were either defunct or dormant and no longer filed tax returns. In exchange, Moore required his clients to pay him certain fees, often taken directly out of their tax refund. In just three months, Moore’s scheme caused a tax loss to the United States exceeding $250,000.

Moore executed the present scheme after he had already pleaded guilty to carrying out a virtually identical scheme, one that caused a tax loss of at least a $3.5 million, in a related Nevada case, United States v. Michael J. Moore, Case No. 2:25-cr-00225-JAD-NJK. While awaiting sentencing in that matter, Moore concealed his identity to avoid detection while continuing his fraudulent criminal conduct. 

For his latest conduct, Moore pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return, and aggravated identity theft. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16 and faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and three years in prison for aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return. He also faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Patrick Burns of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez of the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The United States Department of Justice today sent a letter of legal notice to California Gov. Gavin Newsom informing him of the commencement of a federal investigation into two state women’s prisons to determine if those prisons unconstitutionally provided housing and preferential treatment to biological male prisoners within those prisons’ walls.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced today the filing of charges against, and the guilty plea of, GERARD RYAN in connection with his participation in a scheme to commit insider trading securities fraud based on material nonpublic information that RYAN obtained from a family member who worked at a Manhattan-based pharmaceutical company.  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that HENRY YAU, a former supervisory deportation officer in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon to conspiring to solicit and accept bribes and gratuities.  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, Florida – Jonathan James Elder (35, St. Petersburg) has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with using the telephone to make a threat to kill, injure, intimidate, or damage a building. If convicted, Elder faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, Florida – Ann Mary Zheng (27, Land O’Lakes) has been charged by indictment with assisting after the fact related to her brother, Alen Zheng, placing an improvised explosive device at the MacDill Air Force Base Visitor’s Center in Tampa and evidence tampering. If convicted on all counts, Ann Mary Zheng faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Ann Mary Zheng that the United States is seeking an order of forfeiture in the amount of $5,000, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, Florida – Alen Zheng (20, Land O’Lakes) has been charged by indictment with attempted damage of government property by fire or explosion, unlawful making of a destructive device, and possession of an unregistered destructive device. If convicted, Zheng faces a minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 40 years, in federal prison. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Darnell Jones, also known as “EJ,” was sentenced today by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry in federal court in Brooklyn to 145 months’ imprisonment for wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.  During the height of the COVID‑19 pandemic, from March 2020 through August 2021, Jones used stolen personal identifying information to fraudulently obtain more than $800,000 from federally funded unemployment insurance programs established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Three family members were sentenced today to prison following a jury trial that resulted in convictions for their roles in a multimillion-dollar tax refund fraud scheme. David Hunt was sentenced to 92 months in prison, his son Baylon Hunt was sentenced to 38 months in prison, and Baylon’s half-brother Corey Burt was sentenced to 94 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme to file tax returns in the names of purported trusts they controlled. A fourth family member who was also convicted at trial is scheduled to be sentenced in May.

According to statements made in court and evidence presented at trial, the Hunts, of Arlington, Texas, Burt, formerly of Long Beach, Mississippi, and another family member orchestrated a scheme to file tax returns in the names of purported trusts they controlled. In total, they sought more than $8.5 million in tax refunds that the trusts were not entitled to receive. As part of their scheme, Baylon Hunt and the other family member submitted additional fake documents to the IRS including falsified financial instruments and altered money orders. Even after receiving warning letters to discontinue their fraudulent submissions, they continued filing false returns and other documents with the IRS.

As a result of the scheme, the co-conspirators received over $1.7 million in fraudulent proceeds from the IRS, which they shared and used to purchase luxury goods, furniture, cryptocurrency, a Cadillac Escalade and a house in Mississippi.

All four defendants were convicted at trial of conspiracy to defraud the United States. David Hunt, Burt, and the other family member were also convicted of multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Baylon Hunt was acquitted of two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

In addition to the terms of imprisonment, the defendants were jointly ordered to pay $1,774,864 in restitution to the United States.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Daniel Lipkowitz of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McDonald of the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.