Florida Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for $4.2 Million Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

A Miami, Florida, resident was sentenced on October 6, 2026, to 36 months in prison for filing a false tax return on behalf of a trust as part of a $4.2 million tax refund fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

According to court documents and statements made in court, McDonald Preval filed multiple false tax returns for himself and trusts he claimed to control. The filings falsely reported that the trusts had generated substantial income and made tax withholding payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), claiming large refunds as a result. Officials stated that the trusts did not earn the claimed income or make the reported payments. Preval also filed 2023 tax returns that omitted income earned from his employment.

In total, the false tax returns sought more than $4.2 million in fraudulent refunds. Authorities said Preval successfully obtained more than $580,000 from the scheme, which he used to pay off his residential mortgage and cover personal expenses.

Preval pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return. Alongside the 36-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga ordered Preval to serve one year of supervised release and pay $580,647 in restitution to the IRS.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the Tax Section of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division.

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