NEW HAVEN — A New Haven man pleaded guilty Friday to making false claims to the IRS after he was accused of fraudulently obtaining nearly $257,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, federal prosecutors said.
Davante Mallard, 33, entered the plea in New Haven federal court after waiving his right to be indicted, according to a news release from David Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Sullivan said Mallard helped orchestrate a scheme to fraudulently obtain employee retention and sick and family leave credits from the IRS for his real estate business, Mallard Dynasty Realty Group.
The credits were created after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and were intended to help businesses retain employees and cover the cost of paid sick and family leave wages during the height of the health threat.
Sullivan said Mallard was contacted in 2022 by individuals who instructed him to open an online account with a business that provided online tax preparation services, and then provided the individuals with the account information and password.
Between April 2022 and February 2023, the individuals filed fraudulent tax returns with the IRS for MDR Group, which in reality earned little to no income, had no employees, had not paid wages and had not filed W-2 forms, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the forms misrepresented the number of employees and total wages paid, and were used to apply for large credit refunds. He said Mallard also provided the IRS false information, including...
NEW HAVEN — A New Haven man pleaded guilty Friday to making false claims to the IRS after he was accused of fraudulently obtaining nearly $257,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, federal prosecutors sai...