On July 1, 2025, a non-DOJ individual was arrested and pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with one count of theft of government money and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Shawn Peterson pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Texas. According to the factual statement in support of the guilty plea, from in or about February 2021 through in or about April 2023, Peterson engaged in a scheme to claim fraudulent COVID relief credits available to employers for at least five entities that he created. These entities did not conduct any business, had no employees, had not made prior tax return filings, and did not timely file Forms W-2 for wages paid to employees. Peterson submitted approximately $5,279,030 in fraudulent requests for COVID-Related Tax Credits by filing approximately 30 false IRS Forms 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns. As a result of the scheme, the United States Treasury disbursed checks totaling approximately $2,717,421 to Peterson. The investigation is being conducted by the OIG’s Dallas Office, IRS-CI, and SBA-OIG, on behalf of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
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