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Court Permanently Shuts Down Michigan Tax Preparer for Filing Thousands of False Returns
Ann Heibeck and her businesses barred from tax preparation industry after allegedly claiming fictitious expenses, inflated credits
DETROIT — A federal court has permanently enjoined a Detroit-area tax return preparer and her businesses from preparing tax returns or operating in the tax preparation industry, the Justice Department announced today.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan issued the permanent injunction against Ann Heibeck and her businesses, J&A Tax Services LLC doing business as Equitax and J&A Tax and Accounting Services LLC doing business as Equitax Accounting and Tax Service.
According to the complaint, Heibeck and Equitax prepared and filed tax returns that falsely understated customers’ federal income tax liabilities by claiming fictitious or inflated expenses and credits, including Schedule C business expenses, Dependent Care expenses, Education expenses, and credits available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The court found that Heibeck prepared and filed thousands of false income tax returns through J&A 2, an entity she owned, using her husband’s Personal Tax Identification Number. The court enjoined J&A 2 as an active participant in her scheme.
The injunction bars Heibeck, Equitax, and J&A 2 from preparing tax returns, working for or having any ownership stake in any tax preparation business, assisting others in preparing returns or setting up as a preparer, and transferring or assigning customer lists to any other person or entity.
The court previously entered similar judgments against Tasha Washington, Crystal Patrick, Debra Washington, and Sade Cooper after they failed to appear to defend against the government’s claims.
As a result of the court’s order, Heibeck, Equitax, and J&A 2 must post a copy of the injunction at all locations where they conduct business and post a link to the injunction on their business’s website.
Tax Shelter Promoter Indicted for Evasion and Retaliatory Liens Against Federal Officials
Roger Napoleon Grant allegedly charged clients up to $50,000 for sham trust structure, then filed false liens against Attorney General and IRS Commissioner
PLANO, Texas — A Texas man has been indicted on federal tax crimes for promoting an abusive trust tax shelter and for filing false retaliatory liens against federal officials after learning of the criminal investigation against him, the Justice Department announced today.
Roger Napoleon Grant, of Plano, was charged in an indictment unsealed Monday in the Eastern District of Texas with five counts of tax evasion, 10 counts of aiding and assisting the filing of false income tax returns, and 10 counts of filing false retaliatory liens.
According to the indictment, Grant used an abusive trust tax shelter to conceal his income from the IRS and promoted and sold this structure to others. The shelter consisted of a multi-tiered trust structure typically including at least two sham trusts and a purported charitable foundation. Grant allegedly told clients that any income assigned to the trusts would be tax free, charging between $12,500 and $50,000 for the scheme.
For the years 2017 through 2022, Grant allegedly assigned income he earned from promoting the shelter to a purported business trust. Though he reported approximately $80,521 in total income during that period, he received millions into a bank account held in the trust’s name — an account over which he had exclusive authority and routinely used to pay personal expenses.
Grant allegedly prepared and distributed trust and foundation instruments for clients and provided ongoing support for their use of the tax shelter. He assured clients that despite reassigning income, their business operations would not change and that they, as trustees, would retain complete control over their businesses and income.
The indictment alleges Grant knew the deductions reported on both his and his clients’ trust tax returns were fraudulent and used to conceal true income from the IRS.
In April 2025, Grant learned of the criminal investigation against him. According to the indictment, he retaliated by filing false liens against government officials, including the Attorney General of the United States, the Acting IRS Commissioner, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, the Clerk of Court for the District of Colorado, and an attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
If convicted, Grant faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each tax evasion count, three years for each count of aiding and assisting false returns, and 10 years for each count of filing false retaliatory liens.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Men Charged in $52 Million COVID-19 Tax Credit Fraud Conspiracy
California man arrested as indictment alleges scheme filed 290 false returns for 35 businesses, laundering millions in pandemic relief funds
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A California man was arrested yesterday on federal charges for allegedly orchestrating a multi-state conspiracy that filed hundreds of false tax returns seeking more than $52.7 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief credits, the Justice Department announced today.
Christopher Slater was taken into custody after a grand jury in Harrisburg returned an indictment charging him with conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering. The indictment also charged Mark Keagel, of York, Pennsylvania, with money laundering, conspiracy, and theft of government property.
According to the indictment, Slater conspired with others to recruit business owners, use their information to file false tax returns, and launder the proceeds of the fraud. In total, Slater allegedly caused at least 290 false tax returns to be filed for 35 businesses claiming over $52.7 million in COVID-19 tax credits, of which the IRS paid out more than $32.2 million.
The fraudulent claims targeted two pandemic-era programs: the Paid Sick and Family Leave Credit, which Congress authorized to reimburse businesses for wages paid to employees on sick or family leave due to COVID-19, and the Employee Retention Credit, designed to incentivize businesses to keep employees on payroll during the pandemic.
Keagel, who owned two defunct businesses, allegedly passed their information to one of Slater’s co-conspirators. Slater’s associates then filed false tax returns on behalf of Keagel’s businesses. The IRS mailed approximately $3.6 million in fraudulent Treasury checks to Keagel, who then laundered those proceeds, prosecutors said.
“This indictment alleges that Christopher Slater orchestrated a multi-state fraud scheme that sought more than $50 million in taxpayer-funded pandemic relief funds,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This brazen fraud is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The Fraud Division will continue to hold anyone accountable who steals from American taxpayers and abuses programs intended to provide relief during a national crisis.”
If convicted, Slater faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each of the seven mail fraud and mail fraud conspiracy counts. Both Slater and Keagel face up to 10 years for each money laundering count, and Keagel faces up to 10 years for each theft of government property count.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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