D’ontrinique K. Johnson and Tequilla D. Nairn of Pensacola pleaded guilty on July 16 to conspiracy to aid or assist in the preparation of false tax returns, stealing government money, and filing false tax returns. Nairn also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud, according to an announcement by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said, “This successful prosecution by my office should be a warning to fraudsters anywhere in the Northern District of Florida: your time is up. If you rip off the U.S. taxpayer by defrauding the federal government, you have punched a one-way ticket for yourself to federal prison. Vice President J.D. Vance is spearheading the whole-of-government effort to combat fraud, waste, and abuse wherever it exists, while the National Fraud Enforcement Division is laser-focused on investigating and aggressively prosecuting frauds against the U.S. Government, and my office will ensure fraudsters pay for their crimes.”
Court documents show that Johnson worked as a tax preparer for Nairn at First Premium Solutions in Pensacola between 2021 and 2023. The two conspired to prepare fraudulent federal income tax returns for clients as well as their own personal returns, preventing payment of more than $192,000 in taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service by including materially false items such as fraudulent credits or business information not provided by clients. In addition, Nairn filed for unemployment insurance benefits from both Florida and Virginia during 2020 and 2021 by falsely claiming she was not working due to COVID-19 while employed as a tax preparer.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II: Johnson’s sentencing will take place on July 28 at 1:00 p.m., while Nairn’s is set for October 8 at 9:00 a.m., both in Pensacola. Both face up to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy charges; each count of filing a false return carries up to three years’ imprisonment; Nairn faces an additional mandatory consecutive two years’ imprisonment for aggravated identity theft plus up to twenty years’ imprisonment for wire fraud.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida enforces federal laws across twenty-three counties including Tallahassee and collaborates with law enforcement agencies through initiatives such as Project Safe Childhood, according to its official website.