PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily) — A man from Peoria has pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government out of nearly $2 million through COVID-related tax claims.
The plea agreement from Leslie Victor Gentry, 54, was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. It states that Gentry “knowingly prepared and submitted 14 false Form 941 tax returns for tax years 2020 and 2021.”
The attorney’s office said Gentry filed the tax returns for two businesses owned by himself and his wife, but the businesses were not operational at the time. Those tax returns claimed COVID tax credits for fake wages to employees who did not exist…