TAX-PREPARER INDICTED – DoJ says Zewdi Tsegay was caught red-handed creating refunds from whole cloth, even failed to send in her own tax filings

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, returned an indictment, unsealed on April 14, 2025, charging a Maryland woman with preparing false tax returns for clients and failing to file her own tax returns.

A U.S. District Court Judge has issued a protective order restricting the defendant and her attorneys from releasing any of the personal information of the accused tax preparer’s clients that is obtained during the discovery process. The defendant, Zewdi Tsegay, was ordered to surrender her passport. Attorney John Iwenoge of Washington, D.C., was requested to comment on the charges against his client. Any response will be added to this article in an update.

According to the indictment, Zewdi Tsegay, of Burtonsville, ran a tax preparation business called Taxes R Us LLC, which later changed its named to Taxes 4 You LLC. The indictment alleges that from 2018 through 2024, Tsegay prepared and filed with the IRS false tax returns for clients. These returns allegedly included false business losses that benefited the client by claiming false refunds to which they were not entitled or decreasing their tax liability. 

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According to the indictment, the IRS conducted an undercover operation at Tsegay’s business in March 2020. Tsegay allegedly initially prepared the undercover agent’s tax return correctly, which reflected that the undercover agent owed taxes, and then added a fictitious business loss to the return, which resulted in the return improperly requesting a refund. The indictment further alleges that from 2021 to 2023, Tsegay was required to file tax returns for herself but did not do so.

If convicted, Tsegay faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for each count of failing to file her own tax returns. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Escape is not an option after the passport of tsegay is ordered to be surrendered

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Catriona M. Coppler and Richard Kelley of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Tsegay is represented by John O. Iweanoge II of Washington, D.C. Iweanoge has represented many high-profile fraud cases involving Nigerians. 

Iweanoge Client Nigerian National Sentenced to Prison for
$11 Million Global Fraud Scheme

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Nigerian national was sentenced on Feb. 16, 2021, to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a computer-based intrusion fraud scheme that caused approximately $11 million in known losses to his victims.

“Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Today’s sentence further demonstrates EDVA’s and FBI’s worldwide reach in vigorously pursuing justice on behalf of American victims and others and holding international cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they commit their crimes.”

According to court documents, Obinwanne Okeke, 33, operated a group of companies known as the Invictus Group based in Nigeria and elsewhere. From approximately 2015 to 2019, Okeke and others engaged in a conspiracy to conduct various computer-based frauds. The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia.

As part of the scheme, Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment.

As part of the scheme, Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment. In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials. The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices. Okeke participated in the effort to victimize Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11 million, which was transferred overseas. Additionally, Okeke engaged in other forms of cyber fraud, including sending phishing emails to capture email credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.

Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials.

“The FBI will not allow cyber criminals free reign in the digital world to prey on U.S. companies,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office. “This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working with our partners at the Department of Justice and our foreign counterparts to locate cybercriminals across the globe and bring them to the United States to be held accountable.”

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Samuels prosecuted the case.