A 42-year-old Inglewood woman who once ran a Los Angeles tax-compliance startup was arrested Sunday at a Florida cruise port just as she prepared to set sail, in a case involving what prosecutors call a scheme that siphoned more than $13 million from investors. Shiloh Luckey, also known as Shiloh Johnson, founded ComplYant App Inc. in 2019 to help small business owners track state-by-state tax rules, but authorities say the company she pitched to investors bore little resemblance to the one she actually ran.
According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Inglewood's median household income was $34,976 in the 2020-2024 period, measured in 2024 dollars, while 14.6% of residents were below the poverty line.
Federal prosecutors say Luckey was taken into custody in Fort Lauderdale on September 6 as she attempted to board a cruise ship for a vacation, according to the Department of Justice. A federal indictment charges her with 15 counts. As reported by MyNewsLA.com, Luckey has since been released on bond in the Southern District of Florida and is expected to appear in Los Angeles federal court in the coming weeks.
According to MyNewsLA.com, the indictment charges Luckey with nine counts of securities fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud and two counts of money laundering. Prosecutors say she faces up to 20 years in prison for each securities-fraud and wire-fraud count, up to 30 years on the bank-fraud count, and up to 10 years for each money-laundering count if convicted.
A Startup Built on Fabricated Numbers
Prosecutors allege Luckey misrepresented her own credentials as well as her company's performance to attract investors, presenting herself as a licensed certified public accountant with expertise in tax management, accounting and compliance — a title MyNewsLA.com reports she has never actually held. Federal prosecutors say she promoted the Los Angeles-based ComplYant as having existing customers and significant recurring revenue, using pitch decks, investor materials and updates that allegedly inflated the company's revenue, customer base, subscriptions and cash reserves.
The gap between those claims and reality was stark. Pitch decks given to investors claimed ComplYant's monthly revenue grew from roughly $2,500 in late 2020 to more than $250,000 by late 2022, but according to a report from Medium, SEC filings showed the company never generated more than $620 in any single month and never had more than 131 total paying subscribers. Officials say Luckey fraudulently obtained at least $13.3 million from victims by misrepresenting her tax credentials and the company's revenue.
Venture Capital Backing and a Check-Kiting Scheme
The startup was profiled by Business Insider. Even as the company's real finances deteriorated, MyNewsLA.com reports Luckey engaged in a check-kiting scheme in September and October 2022, writing a $1.5 million check from a ComplYant account that had insufficient funds and depositing it into another ComplYant account at a different bank. She allegedly wired money to purchase her Inglewood home before the first bank realized the check was worthless, then repaid the negative account balance with proceeds from her alleged securities fraud.
Prosecutors say Luckey used investor funds for a home in Inglewood, a Tesla automobile and a wedding on Anguilla. Separate civil filings from the SEC, which brought a securities fraud complaint against Luckey in the same California court on October 20, 2025, alleged she diverted at least $2.2 million in investor funds toward personal expenses including Super Bowl tickets and luxury trips to Aspen, Miami Beach, Turks and Caicos, and Lisbon, according to FX News Group.
Collapse Left Workers and Investors Empty-Handed
ComplYant experienced severe liquidity issues by September 2023 and abruptly ceased all operations that month, even though the company had raised $750,000 from two new investors as late as June and September of that year, per the same FX News Group account. The company had employed more than 50 workers before its shutdown, and Business Insider reports that after operations ceased, Luckey severed contact with staff, leaving employees without paychecks for seven weeks.
Court papers reviewed by MyNewsLA.com say victims lost their entire investments, with the U.S. Attorney's Office noting that investors put millions of dollars into ComplYant based on Luckey's alleged representations about the company's customer base and revenue. Luckey's alleged scheme ran from September 2020 to September 2023, according to the outlet's reporting on the case.
Part of a Broader Crackdown on Startup Metrics
The case involves allegations about startup metrics. An SEC release dated September 2024 said startup founders “cannot fake it until they make it by falsifying revenue metrics.” Luckey's case includes separate civil and criminal proceedings against her.
Luckey is expected to appear in Los Angeles federal court in the coming weeks to face the full slate of charges. It remains unclear what recovery, if any, will be available to the investors and former employees who say they were left with nothing when ComplYant folded.
