28-03-2025
Akron tax preparers guilty of $1.2M pandemic relief fraud face decades in prison
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CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two Akron tax preparers who filed fraudulent applications for pandemic-era relief funds in their clients' names, and pocketed more than $1.2 million in government benefits, have been found guilty of dozens of crimes.
A federal grand jury indicted Mustafa Ayoub Diab, 41, of Ravenna, in 2023 on more than a dozen counts including wire fraud, bank fraud and theft of government funds. He was arrested that month in New Jersey, court records show.
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A superseding indictment filed in April 2024 added dozens more counts as well as Diab's partner, Elizabeth Lorraine Robinson, 33, of Ravenna, as a codefendant.
Diab and Robinson, who were not legally married, but considered each other as husband and wife, offered income tax return preparation services out of a commercial complex in Akron, according to the indictment. That's how they obtained their clients' personal information.
Federal prosecutors said Diab used their clients' identities to file fraudulent applications for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which expanded unemployment benefits amid the pandemic; and for Paycheck Protection Program loans, offered to small businesses to retain jobs and offset losses due to the pandemic.
Diab offered to obtained pandemic assistance for the victims, using their personal information, and in some cases even set up bank accounts in the victims' names, without their knowledge, where the funds were directed. He also set up email accounts through which he posed as the victims, so that the victims were never notified of the benefits.
Diab filed fraudulent claims in the names of nearly 80 people between June 2020 and August 2021, lying about their employment status or falsely claiming they were a small business owner — all without their knowledge, according to prosecutors.
Robinson also set up a bank account in her name to receive pandemic benefits intended for the victims or met victims at the bank to open accounts or make transactions, according to the indictment.
Diab and Robinson also opened bank accounts in the names of family members or other people to launder the benefits, according to the indictment. The pair then withdrew the money in large chunks for themselves, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said Diab spent the money on property, cars and international travel.
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Diab's jury trial began on March 19. During trial, a judge acquitted Diab of four of his 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
The case was handed over to jurors on Tuesday, March 25, court records show. The following Wednesday, March 26, they returned guilty verdicts on all the remaining 30 counts of bank and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering, court records show.
Diab is due for sentencing on July 28, and is facing up to 30 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Robinson pleaded guilty to 19 counts in February and is due for sentencing on June 23, court records show. She also faces up to 30 years in prison.
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