Oct 28, 2025
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Tax season is stressful enough without worrying whether the person filing your return is running a scam. But that’s exactly what happened in Central Florida, where three men behind a chain of tax preparation offices promised “maximum refunds” and instead left taxpayers — and Uncle Sam — on the hook for millions.
After a News 6 [1] investigation exposed years of falsified returns, Emmanuel Almonor, Franklin Carter and Jonathan Carrillo — the owners of Neighborhood Advance Tax — were sentenced to federal prison.
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“This is a very large-scale financial fraud crime,” U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger said before the sentencing. “The innocent people who hired you for your services were harmed.”
A local news team’s investigation ultimately brought the scheme to light. Here’s how they did it.
How it happened
News 6 began digging into Neighborhood Advance Tax in 2020 after clients complained they had been audited by the IRS and forced to repay thousands of dollars in improper refunds.
The company charged customers nearly $1,000 to file their returns. But IRS audits revealed that many clients had been steered into claiming fake deductions and inflated charitable contributions to shrink their tax bills.
According to the IRS Criminal Investigation unit [2], more than $9.1 billion in tax fraud and financial crimes were uncovered in 2024 alone.
For victims like Doreen Bowden, the fallout was personal and costly. In 2019, she turned to Neighborhood Advance Tax because she didn’t feel confident preparing her own return. An employee assured her she’d get a $4,379 refund. Instead, after an IRS audit, she discovered she wasn’t owed anything — and actually owed an additional $1,095.
“I would never do something like that, especially with the IRS,” Bowden told News 6 in 2020. “I’m a very scared person.”
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Pulling off the scam
A federal grand jury indicted eight people tied to the company, accusing them of training employees to inflate refunds while keeping customers in the dark. Court records show Carter pocketed nearly $2 million over four years, even leasing a $6,000-a-month Lamborghini.
But the lavish lifestyle didn’t last. Judge Berger sentenced Carrillo to 12 years in federal prison on Wednesday, while Carter got seven. Almonor received nearly five years the previous month, and five lower-level employees received varying sentences from probation to four years.
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“I’m apologizing to any victims, the government, my clients,” said Carter.
Protecting yourself from shady tax prep
When it comes to tax preparation, the biggest red flag is a company that promises you a sky-high refund. A legitimate preparer will explain deductions and credits clearly — not guarantee results.
If someone tells you not to worry about the details, that’s exactly when you should worry. Inflated returns don’t just attract scammers — they also raise your risk of an IRS audit [3], where the agency line-by-line through your records to make sure everything adds up.
Before handing over your finances for the year, do a little homework:
- Check whether the preparer has a valid IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN).
- Look up reviews online.
- Use the IRS website, which offers a directory to help you find the right preparer, whether you’re filing a simple return or running a business.
Article sources
At Moneywise, we consider it our responsibility to produce accurate and trustworthy content people can rely on to inform their financial decisions. We rely on vetted sources such as government data, financial records and expert interviews and highlight credible third-party reporting when appropriate.
We are committed to transparency and accountability, correcting errors openly and adhering to the best practices of the journalism industry. For more details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
[1]. News 6 Orland. “Tax preparers sent to prison following News 6 investigation” [2]. IRS. “IRS Criminal Investigation releases FY24 Annual Report; details agency’s global reach, billion-dollar impact” [3]. IRS. "IRS audits”
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Victoria Vesovski is a Toronto-based Staff Reporter at Moneywise, where she covers the intersection of personal finance, lifestyle and trending news. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a postgraduate certificate in Publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master’s degree in American Journalism from New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her work has been featured in publications including Apple News, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Her Campus Media and The Click.
