Brooklyn Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to $1.4M IRS Fraud Scheme

Edris Cust of Brooklyn admitted to filing fraudulent returns for clients of her Cust Tax Service, causing over $1.4M in IRS losses.

Brooklyn Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to $1.4M IRS Fraud Scheme

Brooklyn Tax Preparer Admits Fraud Totaling More Than $1.4 Million

A Brooklyn, New York, woman has pleaded guilty to preparing fraudulent federal tax returns on behalf of clients, DOJ Justice News reports.

Edris Cust operated a tax preparation business under the name Cust Tax Service. Between approximately 2019 and 2023, Cust filed false and fraudulent individual returns for multiple clients, court documents and statements made in court confirm.

The fraudulent returns contained fabricated head-of-household filing statuses, fictitious capital asset sales showing losses, false rental receipts, and inflated rental expenses. Those manipulated entries caused clients to claim IRS refunds they were not entitled to receive, or to pay less tax than they legally owed. In total, Cust caused a loss to the IRS exceeding $1.4 million.

Cust entered a guilty plea to one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. She faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison; a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division and Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York announced the case. IRS-CI is handling the investigation. Trial Attorneys Richard J. Kelley and Joseph D.G. Castro of the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Tax Section are prosecuting.

The National Fraud Enforcement Division was established on April 7. The division focuses on investigating and prosecuting fraud committed against the American public, in support of President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.

Source: DOJ Justice News