PHILADELPHIA, PA — Two Philadelphia tax preparers pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating schemes that sought more than $109 million in fraudulent COVID-19 tax credits, resulting in approximately $12.5 million in improper IRS refunds and guilty pleas from seven additional defendants, federal prosecutors announced.
Latisha Dudley, 51, and Timeeka Loud, 47, entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to charges involving false tax returns, mail fraud and theft of government funds.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the women recruited individuals to claim pandemic-related tax credits through businesses that had little or no actual operations, using false employment and payroll information to obtain refunds.
Dudley and individuals working under her direction prepared more than 680 fraudulent tax returns claiming approximately $86 million in credits, while Loud and her associates prepared more than 130 returns seeking approximately $23 million.
Although the Internal Revenue Service rejected some of the filings, it issued approximately $7.9 million in refunds associated with Dudley’s scheme and $4.6 million connected to Loud’s operation.
Both women collected at least $1.2 million each in tax preparation fees, according to court filings and statements made during their guilty plea proceedings.
Prosecutors reported that both used proceeds from their activities to purchase substantial quantities of luxury clothing and jewelry.
“Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that can’t be used for a vital government program or service,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf stated.
Dudley’s activities extended from late 2021 through early 2025. She recruited clients, including friends and relatives, to claim tax refunds based on businesses they purportedly owned.
The returns falsely inflated employee counts and wages to establish eligibility for COVID-19-related tax credits.
Dudley directed clients who received refunds to pay her a portion of the proceeds.
She pleaded guilty to seven counts of aiding and assisting in preparing false tax returns, 27 counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds.
Loud operated a similar scheme from 2022 through late 2023, recruiting individuals whose businesses had minimal or no operations.
Her filings also overstated payroll and employee information to support fraudulent tax credit claims.
Loud typically charged clients between 20% and 30% of the refunds they received.
She pleaded guilty to nine counts of aiding and assisting in preparing false tax returns, 25 counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds.
Both women are scheduled for sentencing in February 2027.
Each count of aiding and assisting in preparing false returns carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, while mail fraud carries a maximum of 20 years per count and theft of government funds carries a maximum of 10 years per count.
The statutory maximum penalties apply to individual counts and do not necessarily reflect the sentences that will be imposed.
Seven additional defendants who participated in the schemes pleaded guilty between May and October 2026.
Four worked with Dudley, according to federal prosecutors.
Angel Brown, 31, of Conshohocken, pleaded guilty May 1. Dudley prepared returns for Brown’s business claiming more than $1.2 million in fraudulent pandemic tax credits, resulting in Brown receiving more than $177,000 in refunds.
Gameer Coleman, 33, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty May 15 after receiving more than $1 million in refunds from returns claiming over $1.8 million in credits.
Alethia Murphy, 56, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty May 18. Returns prepared for her business claimed approximately $950,000 in improper refunds, of which she received nearly $700,000.
Shakeema Turner, 35, of Dover, Delaware, pleaded guilty Oct. 14. False returns filed for her business resulted in almost $800,000 in fraudulent refunds.
Three other defendants participated in Loud’s operation.
Ann Grice, 55, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty June 22. More than a dozen fraudulent returns prepared by Loud resulted in Grice receiving nearly $800,000 from the IRS.
Tinisha Loud, 27, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty July 8. Returns filed for her business entities falsely claimed more than $4.3 million in pandemic tax credits, resulting in refunds exceeding $860,000.
Hasiyna Carroll, 28, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty Sept. 8. Returns prepared by Timeeka Loud for two of Carroll’s businesses claimed approximately $3.9 million in fraudulent refunds, of which Carroll received more than $1 million.
The cases were investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Chandler Harris and Alexander Bowerman, along with Trial Attorney Likhitha Butchireddygari of the Justice Department’s Fraud Division Tax Section.
The prosecutions are part of the Justice Department’s broader efforts to investigate fraud involving federal programs, including pandemic-related financial assistance.
The department established its National Fraud Enforcement Division in April 2026 as part of an initiative targeting fraud against federal programs and public funds.
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