A Kansas City, Missouri, tax preparer was sentenced to federal prison for a nearly $1 million wire fraud scheme involving fraudulent tax returns.
Ebens Louis-Loradin, 45, received a 20-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes and was ordered to pay $722,121 in restitution. Louis-Loradin pleaded guilty on March 27, 2024, to one count of wire fraud and 10 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns.
Court records show that Louis-Loradin prepared and filed 154 fraudulent federal income tax returns, inflating client refunds by nearly $1 million. These inflated refunds increased the fees he charged his clients.
A tax preparer since 2012, Louis-Loradin admitted to defrauding the IRS over seven years, from 2013 to 2020. His fraudulent claims included dependents, inflated withholding amounts, credits for child and dependent care expenses, earned income credits, and other false items. This scheme resulted in a $953,873 loss to the U.S. government.
Many of Louis-Loradin’s clients, who were unaware of the false claims on their returns, have been repaying the IRS for the overpayments. In addition to defrauding the government, Louis-Loradin failed to file his own federal tax returns for 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Louis-Loradin also used multiple identities, including those of at least seven minors, to claim them as dependents on clients’ tax returns. He was in Haiti when indicted in July 2021 but traveled to Florida in May 2023, where he was arrested.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Heberle prosecuted the case, which was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigations.
