Nevada fraud case brings prison term, $7.1 million restitution over false COVID-19 tax credit claims

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Nevada COVID tax fraud case

Highlights

Adonia Stiles sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to file false COVID-19 employment tax credit claims, below prosecutors’ recommended 40 months.
Stiles and co-conspirator Candies Goode-McCoy filed over 160 false employment tax returns claiming $15 million in credits, with $7 million in fraudulent refunds paid out.
Stiles ordered to pay $7,079,121.48 in restitution and serve two years of supervised release, as Nevada court reinforces enforcement against pandemic benefit fraud.

Nevada sentencing outlines scope of tax credit scheme

As reported by U.S. Department of Justice, Adonia Stiles of Las Vegas is sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the U.S. by filing false claims for COVID-19 employment tax credits. Prosecutors had recommended a 40-month prison term.

Court documents and statements made in court say Stiles worked as a real estate agent, tax preparer, and clothing store owner, and conspired with others to file false tax returns seeking refunds through the employee retention credit and the sick and family leave credit. Those programs were created by Congress to help struggling businesses during the global pandemic.

Authorities say Stiles had one co-conspirator, Candies Goode-McCoy, file 11 false employment tax returns for her clothing store seeking more than $800,000 in refundable credits. Stiles also referred 18 other people to Goode-McCoy, who then filed more than 150 false employment tax returns and claimed $15 million in fraudulent credits, leading the U.S. to pay out more than $7 million in refunds.

In exchange for those referrals, Stiles received at least $135,000 and did not report that income on her individual tax returns. Goode-McCoy was sentenced in April 2026 to 54 months in prison for her role in the scheme.

Enforcement push targets pandemic benefit fraud

U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey also orders Stiles to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $7,079,121.48 in restitution to the U.S. The case is investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald says the Justice Department's Fraud Division will pursue people who steal from public benefit programs, while First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah says the sentence reflects the District of Nevada's commitment to holding fraud offenders accountable.

Trial Attorney John C. Gerardi of the Criminal Division's Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez of the District of Nevada prosecute the case. The Justice Department says its Fraud Division, announced on April 7, is focused on investigating and prosecuting fraud against federal benefit programs.

Our earlier report on the indictment of Roger Napoleon Grant covered allegations that he promoted an abusive trust-based tax shelter to hide income and help clients evade taxes. The charges also said he filed false retaliatory liens against senior federal officials after learning he was under investigation, underscoring the Justice Department’s broader push to crack down on complex tax fraud and related misconduct.

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