A Tennessee man has entered a guilty plea for his involvement in a large-scale fraud scheme that exploited COVID-19 relief measures intended to assist businesses impacted by the pandemic. In a case that underscores the vulnerabilities of emergency relief programs to unscrupulous activities, Ryan Glidewell admitted to multiple charges related to concocting fake businesses to illegitimately claim employment tax credits.
According to court documents, Glidewell's ploy leveraged the chaos and the need for speedy financial relief generated by the COVID-19 health crisis. The fraudulent acts included conjuring up businesses that had neither employees nor legitimate operations, purely to falsely claim Employee Retention Credit and paid Sick and Family Leave Credit. Glidewell and his accomplices then proceeded to quickly file a multitude of false tax returns, rerouting the refunds to addresses they controlled. In an announcement reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the illegal scheme claimed upwards of $3.4 million, with the IRS mistakenly disbursing approximately $1.8 million.
The implications of Glidewell's scheme on taxpayers and the integrity of government relief programs are significant. The guilty plea unfolds as Glidewell faces substantial prison time for his crimes, up to 20 years for conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, a decade for money laundering, and an additional three years for aiding in the filing of a false tax return. Acknowledging the gravity of these crimes, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, along with U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III, made the announcement regarding Glidewell's admission of guilt.
An investigation spearheaded by IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service peeled back the layers of this intricate fraud. Trial Attorney Zachary A. Cobb of the Tax Division, alongside Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac Heavener for the Eastern District of Tennessee, is tasked with prosecuting the case. As Glidewell braces to be sentenced on November 12, 2025, the court's decisions will be influenced by U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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