An Ocoee man, identified as James Fednor Meristin, has entered a guilty plea for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States through the operation of a fraudulent tax preparation service. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. Meristin is now facing up to five years in federal prison, although the date of his sentencing has yet to be determined, as the U.S. Department of Justice reported on their website.
Meristin and his co-conspirators ran Kings and Queens Multi Services, a tax preparation outfit that routinely filed false and inflated tax returns on behalf of its clients. These returns were notably filled with COVID-related claims, specifically sick and family leave credits for which clients were not eligible. Because of the bloated refunds their scheme secured, Meristin and his partners could demand fees that soared as high as $20,000 per return. Amidst these revelations, Meristin also conceded deficiencies and fraudulent claims in his tax returns.
The plea agreement laid out the illicit activities from 2019 to 2023 and brought Meristin to agree to pay the Internal Revenue Service restitution amounting to $2,338,675. This case was the result of investigative efforts by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation and is currently under the prosecution wing of Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. Sowell.
For now, Meristin awaits sentencing, a conclusion to a chapter of financial deceit that preyed on a society grappling with the economic fallout of a global pandemic. As the courtroom awaits his reappearance, those defrauded will eye the proceedings, hoping for restitutions that are often more symbolic than reparatory.
