A Miami man pleaded guilty Monday to filing a false tax return in connection with a scheme that sought more than $4.2 million in fraudulent refunds, federal prosecutors announced.
McDonald Preval admitted to submitting multiple false returns on behalf of himself and several trusts under his control. According to court records, these trust returns falsely claimed the entities had earned substantial income and made significant tax withholding payments to the IRS, making them appear eligible for large refunds. In reality, the trusts did not earn the income or make the payments.
Additionally, prosecutors said Preval failed to report income from his regular job on his 2023 personal tax return.
Preval pleaded guilty to a single count of filing a false tax return. Under federal law, he faces up to three years in prison, along with supervised release, restitution, and financial penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence on Oct. 6, following a review of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement of the plea was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Kavitha Bondada of the Justice Department’s Tax Section.
The prosecution is part of a broader push by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, which was established on April 7.
The division aligns with the federal Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide initiative chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance aimed at cutting down on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs.
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