CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The owner of a North Carolina tax return preparation business pleaded guilty to conspiring to prepare false returns claiming fraudulent refunds based on COVID-19 tax credits.
Seven other return preparers have already pleaded guilty for their roles in the same scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Nejlai Mitchell owned and operated a tax return preparation business out of Lumberton, North Carolina, and Hope Mills, North Carolina. From approximately April 2022 through May 2023, Mitchell and seven employees filed false tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the paid sick and family leave credit, a credit passed by Congress to aid struggling businesses during the COVID-19 global pandemic…