Latest news with #CandiesGoode-McCoy
New York Times
15-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Woman Pleads Guilty in Covid Tax Credit Scheme That Netted $33 Million
Some people binge-watched shows during the Covid pandemic. Others picked up pickleball. But according to federal prosecutors, one Las Vegas woman prepared and filed false tax returns for her business and others at an astonishing average rate of nearly 80 per month. Over a 16-month period beginning in June 2022, the Justice Department said Friday, the woman, Candies Goode-McCoy, filed more than 1,200 returns in order to fraudulently claim Covid-19 tax credits of nearly $100 million. Ms. Goode-McCoy, 34, who pleaded guilty under a plea agreement on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to charges of conspiracy to defraud the government, managed to get the I.R.S. to pay out about $33 million, prosecutors said. She took $1.3 million of that herself, they said, and received an additional $800,000 from those for whom she prepared the false returns. Ms. Goode-McCoy, who could face as much as 10 years in prison when she is sentenced in February 2026, used the money to gamble at casinos, take vacations and buy luxury cars, prosecutors said. She also purchased designer clothing from Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, court documents show. Her lawyer could not be reached for comment on Friday. According to prosecutors, the businesses for which Ms. Goode-McCoy prepared taxes were not eligible to receive the refundable credits in the amounts claimed. Under the plea agreement, Ms. Goode-McCoy agreed to return the most of the $33 million that was fraudulently obtained. The fraudulent tax returns were filed from around June 2022 through September 2023, officials said. The refunds that Ms. Goode-McCoy sought were based on the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit programs, court documents showed. The tax credits were part of trillions in relief money, approved by Congress and sent to individuals and businesses after the Covid-19 pandemic began five years ago. The Employee Retention Credit program offered companies thousands of dollars per employee if they could show that the pandemic was hurting their businesses but that they were continuing to pay workers. Sick and Family Leave Credit offered tax breaks to employers who voluntarily gave their workers paid sick and family leave if they needed to take time off because of the pandemic. The businesses Ms. Goode-McCoy owned were incorporated in Nevada, court documents show, and carried names like Changing Lives Movement, Exclusive Flavors, Queen Smith Professional Corporation and Candies King Elliott. Investigators said that she had worked with others, including an unidentified co-conspirator, to use commercial tax preparation software to remotely file 1,227 forms, even though none of the people or businesses she applied for had been eligible for those tax credits or in the amounts that she claimed. She 'always knew that the Forms 941 she was filing were fraudulent,' prosecutors said in court documents, referring to the forms that employers use to report income taxes, Social Security tax or Medicare tax withheld from employees' paychecks. Government investigators have struggled to keep up with pandemic-related fraud, focusing their efforts and limited resources on large, multimillion-dollar cases. Federal prosecutors have used novel methods and have even relied on private citizens to hunt for potential cases of fraud. Washington distributed billions of dollars with few strings and little oversight as part of its response to the pandemic. The Small Business Administration's inspector general has estimated that more than $200 billion — or at least 17 percent of the pandemic loans that the agency distributed — was awarded to 'potentially fraudulent actors.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Las Vegas woman pleads guilty to fraud for seeking $100M in false COVID-19 employment tax credits
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas woman is facing up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the government of millions of dollars. The money was used to buy luxury cars, go gambling, and take vacations. Candies Goode-McCoy conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit and paid sick and family leaves credit during COVID-19, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. McCoy filed around 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming the credits. She was seeking nearly $100M. The IRS did pay $33M. McCoy personally received $1.3 million and was paid around $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns. McCoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as well as a period of supervised release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Yahoo
Las Vegas woman guilty of fraud for false COVID-19 tax credit claims
Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Justice Department said Friday that Candies Goode-McCoy, of Las Vegas, has pleaded guilty of conspiring to defraud the United States with tens of millions of dollars in false COVID-19 employment tax credit claims. "In total, these claims sought refunds of over $98 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $33 million," the Justice Department said in a statement. "McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid about $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns. McCoy knew that these returns were fraudulent." The DOJ said McCoy filed "approximately 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming these refundable credits." McCoy used the money to buy luxury cars, to take vacations, for gambling and for other luxury goods, according to the DOJ. The tax credits during the pandemic were sup[posed to go to small businesses to help them keep workers on their payrolls during the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. The credits were equal to the wages the businesses paid the employees during sick or family leave. Congress also authorized reduced employment taxes for businesses during the pandemic. At sentencing scheduled for Feb. 23, McCoy faces a maximum of 10 years in prison plus monetary penalties and a period of supervised release.
