Detroit Tax Fraud Lawyers

Detroit Tax Fraud Lawyers

Sameerah Marrell filed 122 false tax returns seeking $27 million from the IRS and six states. When federal agents arrested her, she was released on bond. Most people would stop at that point. Marrell continued filing fraudulent returns while on bond – committing new crimes while awaiting prosecution for old ones. When she was finally sentenced, the judge gave her 4.5 years in federal prison. The “Committing an Offense While On Bond” charge became part of her conviction.

The investigation caught her. The arrest was supposed to stop her. She kept going anyway. That’s what investigators deal with in Detroit – people who don’t stop even when they’re already caught. The Eastern District of Michigan has seen this pattern repeatedly. The fraud continues until the prison doors close.

The 122 false returns Marrell filed weren’t random. They were Income Tax Returns for Estates and Trusts – a specific form that generates large refunds when falsified correctly. She sought over $13.6 million from the IRS alone, plus another $14.7 million from six state treasuries. The scheme ran from 2014 through April 2022. Eight years of fraud. And when she was caught, she didn’t stop. She added more crimes to her resume while waiting for trial.

$27 Million And She Didnt Stop

Heres exactly what Sameerah Marrell did wrong. From 2014 through 2022, she filed 122 false Income Tax Returns for Estates and Trusts. These returns claimed fictitious income and sought refunds that nobody was entitled to recieve. The IRS paid some of those refunds. Six states paid some of those refunds. The total sought exceeded $27 million.

The scheme required organization. 122 returns over eight years means consistent, ongoing fraud. This wasnt a one-time mistake or a moment of poor judgment. This was a business model built on stealing from federal and state treasuries. Every return represented a deliberate choice to commit fraud.

When federal agents finally arrested Marrell, she was released on bond pending trial. Bond is supposed to be a period where defendants stop committing crimes. Marrell didnt get that message. She continued filing fraudulent returns after her arrest. She continued the scheme that investigators had already uncovered. She was actively committing new crimes while waiting to be prosecuted for old ones.

The “Committing an Offense While On Bond” charge added to her conviction reflects that choice. The judge who sentenced her to 4.5 years in federal prison saw someone who wouldnt stop even when caught. The arrest didnt deter her. The federal charges didnt deter her. Only the prison sentence actualy stopped the fraud. Thats the reality federal prosecutors deal with in Detroit – defendants who continue until there physicaly prevented from continuing.

The Tax Preparer Who Charged $925 Per Crime

Gary Hairston owned and operated Gary Y Hairston & Co PLLC, a tax return preparation business in Inkster, Michigan. From 2010 through 2014, he prepared and filed false tax returns for his clients. He charged up to $925 per fraudulent return. His clients paid him to commit crimes that would later create problems for them.

Think about that for a second. Hairstons clients came to him for help with there taxes. They trusted him. They paid him. And he filed returns with false information designed to inflate refunds. The clients got bigger checks from the IRS – money they werent entitled to recieve. They thought there preparer was doing good work. They were actualy paying for fraud that would eventualy catch up to them.

A federal jury convicted Hairston on 25 counts of preparing false federal income tax returns. His sentence: 30 months in federal prison plus one year of supervised release. The restitution order: $118,048 to the IRS. The $175,000 in fraudulent refunds he sought over four years resulted in years of prosecution and prison time.

Heres the thing about preparer fraud in Detroit. The clients who used Hairston didnt know there returns were false. They trusted him. They paid him. And now there returns are in IRS systems as having been prepared by a convicted fraudster. The IRS can look at those returns and decide to examine them. The clients may owe taxes they didnt know they owed. The refunds they recieved may become debts they have to repay.

The 25 counts against Hairston represent 25 clients whose returns were falsified. Each one of those clients now has a connection to a tax fraud conviction. Each one may face questions from the IRS. The preparer who charged $925 per return created problems worth far more then that for everyone involved.

The Attorney And The CPA

Carl Collins was a personal injury attorney with offices in Southfield, Michigan. He also owned a real estate company and two medical services companies. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for willfully filing five false tax returns for himself and one of his businesses.

An attorney. Someone who understands legal consequences. Someone who advises clients on there rights and obligations. Someone who presumably knew that filing false tax returns was a crime. Collins filed five of them anyway. The person who should have known better didnt act like it.

Paul Kozowicz was a certified public accountant in Birmingham, Michigan. He worked for a law firm providing accounting and financial services. He was 75 years old when he pleaded guilty to tax evasion. His crime: intentionally failing to report over $1.1 million in taxable income over a nine-year period.

A CPA. Someone whos entire career was built on understanding tax law. Someone clients paid specifically becuase he knew how taxes worked. Kozowicz hid $1.1 million from the IRS over nine years. The accountant who should have been filing perfect returns was evading taxes while helping others with theres.

Heres the uncomfortable truth these cases reveal. Professionals who should know better commit tax fraud in Detroit just like everyone else. The attorney filed five false returns. The CPA hid income for nearly a decade. There professional credentials didnt prevent the fraud – and didnt prevent the prosecution. Collins got 18 months. Kozowicz pleaded guilty facing federal charges at 75 years old. The professional knowledge that should have prevented these crimes was used to commit them instead.

The Marijuana Dispensary That Obstructed The IRS

Ryan Richmond owned and operated Relief Choices, LLC, a marijuana dispensary in Warren, Michigan. Marijuana is legal in Michigan for both medical and recreational use. Operating a dispensary is a legal business. But Richmond evaded federal income taxes and obstructed the IRS when they investigated.

A federal jury in Detroit found Richmond guilty of both tax evasion AND obstructing the IRS. Thats a critical distinction. The evasion was the underlying crime – causing a tax loss of more than $1.15 million. The obstruction was what he did when investigators started looking. He made it worse by fighting the investigation.

Heres what happens when you obstruct an IRS investigation. You add charges. You add potential prison time. You demonstrate to prosecutors and judges that your not cooperating. The obstruction that was supposed to hide the evasion becomes its own crime that gets prosecuted alongside the original offense. Richmond didnt just evade taxes – he tried to stop investigators from finding out, and he got convicted of both.

The marijuana industry in Michigan creates unique tax complications:

• Federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance
• This affects how dispensaries can deduct business expenses
• Section 280E of the tax code prohibits deductions for businesses trafficking in controlled substances
• The tax situation is already complex and unfavorable

When dispensary owners like Richmond decide to evade on top of that complexity, they create federal criminal exposure that the legal status of marijuana in Michigan dosent protect against.

Richmond caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $1.15 million. Thats not a small discrepancy or a gray area – thats over a million dollars in taxes that should have been paid. The dispensary that was legal under state law generated income that was taxable under federal law. Richmond chose evasion instead of compliance. And when investigators came looking, he chose obstruction. Each choice made the outcome worse.

Michigans Dual Prosecution Reality

Michigan has a state income tax at a 4.25% flat rate. Unlike Nevada with no state income tax, Michigan has both state AND federal tax fraud enforcement. The Michigan Department of Treasury Discovery and Tax Enforcement Unit investigates state tax crimes. The Michigan Attorney General prosecutes them. Local county prosecutors can also bring charges.

For tax fraud exposure in Detroit, this creates significant consequences. You face BOTH state AND federal prosecution. A single tax fraud scheme can trigger investigation by Treasury and IRS simultaniously. Cases can be prosecuted at the state level, the federal level, or both.

Heres what that means in practice. An Oakland County woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison for tax fraud – prosecuted by the Michigan Attorney General, not federal prosecutors. State-level prosecution with state prison time. Meanwhile, Sameerah Marrell got 4.5 years federal for her $27 million scheme. The same criminal conduct can result in prosecution at either level depending on the scale and which investigators catch it first.

The Discovery and Tax Enforcement Unit at the Department of Treasury has multiple tools to detect non-compliance:

• They analyze patterns
• They compare returns
• They identify discrepancies

When they find fraud, they can refer cases to the Attorney General for state prosecution OR to federal authorities for federal prosecution. The dual system means more investigators looking and more prosecutors available to bring charges.

Under Michigan law:

• Tax evasion carries up to 5 years in state prison plus a $5,000 fine
• Perjury on tax returns – swearing to false information – carries up to 15 years

These are state penalties separate from federal charges. The Oakland County woman who got 15 months faced state prosecution. Others face federal prosecution with different sentencing guidelines. The choice of venue matters, but the exposure is real at both levels.

The Eastern Districts Approach To Major Fraud

The Eastern District of Michigan has demonstrated through case after case that it will pursue tax fraud aggressivly:

• Sameerah Marrell – 4.5 years for the $27 million scheme
• Gary Hairston – 30 months for 25 counts of false returns
• Carl Collins – 18 months for the attorney who filed false returns
• Yigal Ziv – 12 months for employment tax crimes

Heres the reality of federal tax investigations. By the time charges get filed, investigations have been running for months or years. The Marrell investigation traced 122 false returns across the IRS and six state treasuries. The Hairston investigation examined returns filed over four years. The evidence is gathered before defendants know there being investigated.

The sentences are real. Marrell got 4.5 years – and that was with a guilty plea. Dotson got 51 months for pandemic unemployment fraud. Hairston got 30 months. Collins got 18 months. The restitution orders are substantial too – Hairston owes $118,048 to the IRS. These debts follow defendants permanantly. They survive bankruptcy. They attach to future earnings.

And the 90% federal conviction rate means most people who get charged get convicted. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Michigan dont bring cases they cant prove. By the time your charged, theyve already determined the evidence is sufficient for conviction. The investigation that happened without your knowledge produced the evidence that will convict you.

Employment Tax Crimes In Detroit

Yigal Ziv of West Bloomfield owned and operated Multinational Technologies, Inc., a software development firm based in Walled Lake. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for failing to collect and pay over employment taxes withheld from his employees wages.

Employment tax crimes work differently then personal tax evasion. When an employer withholds taxes from employee paychecks, that money belongs to the IRS. Its not the employers money – its held in trust for the goverment. When employers keep that money instead of remitting it, theyre stealing from the IRS AND from there employees who wont get proper Social Security credits.

Ziv withheld taxes from his employees. They saw the deductions on there paychecks. They expected those taxes to be paid to the IRS on there behalf. Ziv kept the money instead. His employees worked, paid taxes through withholding, and those taxes never reached the goverment. The software developers at MTI thought there employer was handling there tax obligations. He wasnt.

Heres the thing about employment tax fraud in Detroit. The employees are victims too. They lose Social Security credits for wages that werent properly reported. They may face tax complications years later when the records dont match. The employer who stole from the IRS also stole from the workers who trusted him to handle there withholdings correctly.

The IRS takes employment tax crimes seriously becuase the money was never the employers to keep. Its trust fund money – withheld from employees specificaly to pay there tax obligations. When employers divert that money to other uses, theyre stealing from employees and the goverment simultaneouly. The 12-month sentence Ziv recieved reflects the serious nature of trust fund fraud.

Defense Strategy In Detroit

If your facing tax fraud exposure in Detroit, the calculus involves understanding how both state and federal systems operate.

What the cases show:

• The Marrell case shows what happens when you continue fraud after arrest – additional charges and 4.5 years
• The Hairston case shows that preparer fraud at scale creates 25 counts and 30 months
• The Collins case shows that professional credentials dont protect against prosecution
• The Richmond case shows that obstruction adds charges on top of evasion

Heres what these cases have in common. By the time defendants faced prosecution, there options had narrowed dramaticaly. The investigations were complete. The evidence was gathered. The schemes were documented. The only questions were conviction and sentencing.

The time to address tax fraud exposure is before any of that happens. Voluntary disclosure programs exist. Coming forward before the IRS finds you creates opportunities to resolve issues civily – with penalties and interest, but potentialy without prison. The IRS actualy encourages this approach. And in Michigan, addressing issues proactivly can prevent state prosecution from developing alongside federal exposure.

If an investigation has already begun, damage control becomes the priority:

• Understanding what investigators know
• Protecting against self-incrimination
• Navigating toward the least damaging outcome possible

And absolutly not continuing to commit fraud like Marrell did – committing crimes on bond doesnt help your case, it destroys it.

Why Detroit Specificaly Creates Exposure

Detroits economy creates particular tax fraud exposure. The automotive industry legacy with complex supplier relationships. Cash-intensive businesses in the metro area. A concentration of professionals – attorneys, CPAs, business owners – who should know better but sometimes dont. Each creates opportunities for both legitimate planning and fraud.

The Hairston case reveals how tax preparer fraud operates in Detroit. Clients paying $925 for fraudulent returns. 25 counts of false preparation. Clients who trusted there preparer now connected to a fraud conviction. The tax preparation industry in metro Detroit serves complex situations – and when preparers like Hairston cross into fraud, they affect dozens of clients.

The Collins and Kozowicz cases show that professional knowledge dosent prevent professional crimes. An attorney filed false returns. A CPA hid income for nine years. The credentials that should prevent fraud sometimes enable it instead. And federal prosecutors dont hesitate to charge professionals who should have known better. In fact, professional defendants sometimes recieve harsher treatment becuase judges expect them to understand the law they violated.

And the December 2024 permanent shutdown of United Tax Team Inc. shows that civil remedies exist alongside criminal prosecution. Alicia Bishop, Tenisha Green, and the business incorporator Glen Hurst were permanantly barred from preparing federal tax returns. The business that was supposed to help clients with taxes was eliminated from the industry entirely. Federal courts can shut down fraudulent preparers even without criminal convictions – the civil injunction route removes them from the market permanently.

If theres tax fraud exposure in your situation – returns prepared by someone now under investigation, employment taxes your business didnt remit, income you didnt report – the time to address it is before anyone starts looking. Not after the investigation begins. Not after your preparer gets sentenced. Not after you recieve a target letter.

Heres the thing about prosecution in Detroit. The Eastern District of Michigan has shown through the Marrell case, the Hairston case, the Collins case, and dozens of others that it pursues tax fraud aggressivly. The state adds another layer of enforcement. The 90% federal conviction rate means most people who get charged get convicted. Federal judges in Michigan impose sentences that reflect the seriousness of the fraud – and when defendants continue committing crimes on bond like Marrell did, the sentences get longer.

Your exposure persists untill you address it. The question is wheather you address it before investigators start looking or after prosecution becomes inevitable.