4 in Los Angeles area charged in alleged $93 million COVID-19 fraud scheme, FBI says

CBS News

4 hours ago

Four people from the Los Angeles area have been federally charged for their alleged roles in what the FBI calls the "nation's largest known" $93 million COVID-19 tax credit fraud scheme.
On June 11, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against four individuals charging them with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to submit false claims. The FBI said two of the defendants named are also charged with attempting to kill a witness and "using a firearm in furtherance of that crime."
During the pandemic, Congress authorized tax credits to help alleviate the financial impacts of COVID-19 through the Family First Coronavirus Response Act. This allowed small businesses to apply for refunds on business tax returns, claiming the credit. The authorized tax credits would then allow businesses to be reimbursed for the wages that were paid to employees who could not work due to the pandemic.
The defendants named in the indictment:
Kristerpher Turner, 52, from Harbor City, aliases "Kris Turner," "Red," "Red Boy," and "Bullet"
Toriano Knox, 55, from Los Angeles, aliases "Scooby" and "Dwight"
Kenya Jones, 46, from Compton, aliases "Kenya Emua Jones" and "Kenya Hunt"
Joyce Johnson, 55, from Victorville, alias "Ms. Jay"
According to court documents, Turner was allegedly head of a tax fraud scheme where he and his co-conspirators would submit fraudulent applications to the Coronavirus Response Credits for businesses, including fake companies.
"Defendant Turner and his co-conspirators would submit these fraudulent filings on behalf of their own purported businesses, but also on behalf of others recruited to the scheme," the FBI said.
Officials claim Turner would direct and manage recruiters, including Knox and Jones, to recruit other clients. The court documents claim Jones recruited her family members and friends, which resulted in false forms being submitted on behalf of multiple businesses. The fraudulent clients would use their personal information to create the fake businesses and prepare the fraudulent tax filings.
The FBI also claims others would provide information about preexisting businesses that were ineligible to receive the Coronavirus Response Credits, "so that the co-conspirators could use that information to file fraudulent tax filings on behalf of those businesses."
The fraud participants received checks from the U.S. Treasury as a result of the fraudulent tax filings. According to the FBI, for every Treasury check a fraud client received, Turner would allegedly charge between 20 to 40% of the proceeds. Authorities claim Turner directed fraud clients and his recruiters to pay him a portion of the money they received directly to him or entities controlled by him.
The indictment claims that between June 2020 and December 2024, the defendants and co-conspirators submitted or caused the submission of fraudulent forms for at least 148 companies, which totaled $247,956,938 in tax refunds they were "not entitled to." As a result of the fraudulent forms and false statements, the IRS issued approximately $93 million in Treasury checks.
Court documents allege that during the scheme, when the defendants found out that the IRS was making inquiries, Knox and Jones attempted to kill Turner. The indictment says they wanted to "prevent him from speaking to law enforcement about the fraud."
Turner was shot multiple times in broad daylight in Gardena. He survived the shooting but is paralyzed, the FBI says.
If convicted of the charges, the defendants could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on each mail fraud charge. Additionally, Knox and Jones could face life imprisonment on the firearm charge and 30 years on the attempted murder charge.