Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the United States with $3M Loss

Strategic Insights -

Diandre Mentor, a 33-year-old man from Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns for clients, causing a $3,090,077 loss to the IRS. Mentor worked for Neighborhood Advance Tax (NAT) between 2017 and 2019 and later started his own tax return preparation business, Smart Tax & Finance, which expanded to 12 locations throughout Florida. He and his co-conspirators taught employees how to prepare false tax returns, including fabricating deductions.

Key Takeaways:

  • Diandre Mentor, a 33-year-old man from Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns for clients.
  • Mentor worked for Neighborhood Advance Tax (NAT) between January 2017 and 2019 and caused a tax loss to the IRS of $3,090,077.
  • Mentor and his co-conspirators operated a dozen offices throughout Florida that fraudulently inflated client tax refunds by fabricating deductions on their returns.
  • Mentor also started his own tax return preparation business, Smart Tax & Finance, which expanded to 12 franchise locations throughout South and Central Florida.
  • Mentor and his co-conspirators taught employees how to prepare false tax returns, including fabricating deductions.
  • Several of Mentor's co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty, including Abryle Y De La Cruz, Emmanual Almonor, Adon Hemley, and Isaiah Hayes.
  • Franklin Carter Jr. and Jonathan Carrillo are scheduled to go to trial on June 2.
  • Mentor faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Statistics:

  • $3,090,077: Total tax loss to the IRS caused by mentor's scheme.
  • 12: Number of offices operated by Neighborhood Advance Tax throughout Florida.
  • 12: Number of franchise locations of Smart Tax & Finance throughout South and Central Florida.
  • 5 years: Maximum penalty of prison time faced by mentor.

Sources:

  • "Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the United States with $3M Loss." United States Attorneys General.
  • Court documents and statements made in court.