By Jeff Goldman
nj.com
(TNS)
A 52-year-old New Jersey tax preparer was found guilty of orchestrating tax credit fraud during the coronavirus pandemic that cost the government more than $55 million.
A jury convicted Leon Haynes of 15 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false tax returns, one count of mail fraud and two counts of tax evasion following a six-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey said.
Haynes, of Teaneck, is scheduled to be sentenced March 12.
Haynes helped file more than 1,900 false tax returns during the pandemic, most containing false information about employee counts and wages..
Congress authorized the employee retention tax credit and sick and family leave credit to help struggling businesses during COVID.
Haynes took advantage of those credits from November 2020 to May 2023 “for his own greed,” prosecutors said.
He sought more than $170 million in tax credits for his clients, who received about $55 million.
Haynes received a portion of that money for his services and dodged paying taxes because he didn’t report any of the income to the IRS. Instead, he asked his clients for cash to avoid a paper trail and kept it all, authorities said.
Photo credit: new look casting/iStock
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©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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