Christopher Slater, a California man, was arrested and charged Monday with orchestrating a multi-state conspiracy to defraud the federal government of more than $52.7 million through false claims of pandemic relief tax credits, U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller announced. Mark Keagel, 52, of York, Pennsylvania, was charged as a co-conspirator in the scheme.
According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Slater filed at least 280 false tax returns for 35 businesses claiming Paid Sick and Family Leave Credits (SFLC) and Employee Retention Credits (ERC), credits Congress authorized to help businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The Internal Revenue Service paid out over $32.2 million of the $52.7 million claimed before the scheme was detected.
Slater allegedly recruited business owners, used their information to file fraudulent returns, and laundered the proceeds through multiple channels. Keagel, who owned two defunct businesses, allegedly provided his companies’ information to one of Slater’s co-conspirators. “Slater’s associates filed false tax returns on behalf of Keagel’s businesses,” the indictment states. The IRS mailed approximately $3.6 million in fraudulent Treasury checks to Keagel, who then allegedly laundered the proceeds.
“This brazen fraud is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division will continue to hold anyone accountable who steals from American taxpayers and abuses programs intended to provide relief during a national crisis.”
Slater faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of seven mail fraud counts and up to 10 years for each money laundering count. Keagel faces up to 10 years for each count of theft of government property and money laundering. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief Ezra Spiro of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma. IRS Criminal Investigation is conducting the investigation.
Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/two-men-charged-52-million-covid-19-tax-credit-fraud-conspiracy
