A Miami man has admitted he tried to squeeze the U.S. Treasury for millions, pleading guilty Monday to filing a false federal tax return in what prosecutors say was a refund scheme worth more than $4.2 million. In court, McDonald Preval acknowledged that he submitted multiple bogus returns for himself and several trusts he controlled, and that he left out income from his regular job on his 2023 personal return. According to prosecutors, the trust filings reported income and tax withholdings that never existed, giving the appearance that the entities were entitled to hefty refunds.
Court records cited by the Tampa Free Press show Preval filed returns for supposed trusts that claimed substantial income and listed tax withholdings that were never paid. He pleaded guilty to a single count of filing a false tax return and now faces supervised release, restitution and other financial penalties. A federal judge is scheduled to decide his sentence on Oct. 6, 2026.
Prosecutors tie the case to a national fraud crackdown
Prosecutors are casting the case as part of a broader federal push to stamp out schemes that target taxpayer money. The Department of Justice has centralized such prosecutions under a new National Fraud Enforcement Division, which is tasked with coordinating cases that involve the misuse of public funds. The NFED was formally created by an April 7 memorandum, and DOJ materials say the division supports a wider White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Department of Justice documents lay out the NFED mission, while policy reporting has highlighted the task force’s federal role.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
According to prosecutors, Preval controlled several trusts that existed mostly on paper and on tax forms. They allege he filed returns for those trusts that showed large amounts of income and significant tax withholding payments, which would have positioned them for large refunds. Court filings state that, in reality, those trusts neither earned the income nor paid the withholding they claimed. The false returns for Preval and the trusts together sought more than $4.2 million in refunds, according to the Tampa Free Press.
What’s next
By pleading guilty, Preval opened himself up to the penalties spelled out in the federal false-return statute, which allows for fines and up to three years in prison for willfully filing a false return. At the Oct. 6, 2026 sentencing hearing, a federal judge will weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other factors set by law. For readers who like to go straight to the legal fine print, the statutory language on false returns and penalties is available at 26 U.S.C. § 7206.
