Las Vegas, NV (Dept of Justice) - A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to defraud the United States by making claims for refunds of false COVID-19 related employment tax credits.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Candies Goode-McCoy conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, Congress authorized the ERC for small businesses to reduce the employment tax owed to the IRS. Congress also authorized the IRS to give a credit against employment taxes to reimburse businesses for the wages paid to employees who were on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. This credit was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during the sick or family leave, subject to a maximum amount.
From around June 2022 through September 2023, McCoy filed approximately 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming these refundable credits.
In total, these claims sought refunds of over $98 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $33 million. McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid about $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns.
McCoy said that she knew that these returns were fraudulent. McCoy says she used the proceeds for personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury cars, gambling at casinos, vacations and other luxury goods.
McCoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2026.