Four tax preparers have been sentenced to a total of 105 months in federal prison for defrauding the IRS of nearly $8 million. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Nancy E. Larson.
Court documents reveal that Festus Adenisimi, 65, from Mansfield, Texas, owned FA Tax, a tax preparation business in Grand Prairie. He and other tax preparers at the firm prepared fraudulent tax returns for clients, resulting in significant losses to the IRS totaling more than $7.5 million.
Adenisimi pled guilty in September 2024 to falsely preparing tax returns. As part of his plea agreement, he also admitted to fraudulently obtaining two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans amounting to $760,415 under the Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 relief program.
In March 2025, U.S. Senior District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn sentenced Adenisimi to 57 months in prison and ordered him to pay $10,283,737.65 in restitution.
Three additional FA Tax employees also pled guilty to similar charges and were sentenced by Judge Lynn on June 26, 2025:
- Sunshyne Endurance Ogungbemi, 37, from Waxahachie, Texas: Sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $7,533,550.84 in restitution.
- Chris Mary Tijerina, 40, from Crandall, Texas: Sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $7,560,661.69 in restitution.
- Cynthia Bradley, 45, from Belleville, Illinois: Sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,768,106.28 in restitution.
“The defendants orchestrated a multi-year tax fraud scheme that caused substantial loss to the government,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson. “We will continue to track down those who attempt to cheat the American people and we will hold them accountable with prison time.”
Gerardo Gomez of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office praised his team: “I'm proud of the women and men of IRS-CI for their commitment... The 105 months of federal prison time for the members of FA Tax who falsified tax returns illustrate that tax fraud is not a victimless crime.”
The investigation was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigations with Assistant U.S. Attorney Marty Basu prosecuting the case.
