A Southwest Georgia resident with a prior federal conviction for tax fraud has been found guilty again, this time for a fraudulent tax filing scheme that involved claiming millions of dollars in non-existent income and losses. Reginald Knight, 52, of Arlington, Georgia, was convicted by a federal jury on February 19, 2025, of one count of making and subscribing a false tax return. The verdict followed a two-day trial.
Knight faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of $100,000. Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, who presided over the trial, will determine the sentencing date.
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“The defendant was claiming millions in refunds for a business that never generated income or incurred any losses, fabricating these claims in yet another attempt by the defendant to steal from taxpayers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “We are grateful to the IRS investigators who collaborated with our office to help bring a repeat fraudster to justice.”
“The guilty verdict serves as a notice to unscrupulous tax preparers that filing fraudulent tax returns will lead them to a criminal court date,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lisa Fontanette, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.
Court documents and evidence presented at trial revealed that Knight filed a tax return on March 13, 2018, falsely claiming $3,211,907 in wages, $2,586,551 in withholdings, and $1,848,000 in Schedule C (Form 1040) losses, resulting in a claimed refund of $2,165,154. Knight fabricated W-2s and Schedule Cs for two separate business entities that, in reality, never generated the claimed income, paid the withholdings, or incurred the losses. The IRS did not issue the refund for this particular filing.
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The IRS began investigating Knight in 2021 and discovered that he had filed similarly fraudulent tax returns for the same non-operating businesses for tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016. The IRS did not issue refunds for 2014 and 2015 but did issue a refund of $745,953 to Knight for tax year 2016 on June 7, 2017. Knight used this fraudulently obtained refund to pay for the construction of a new home in Albany, transfer funds to his investment account, purchase a vehicle, and cover personal living expenses totaling $442,667.30. The IRS later recovered $315,466.97.
Knight has a prior federal conviction in the Southern District of Florida from November 22, 2005, for conspiracy to defraud the government through a false tax refund claim and making a false tax refund claim. He served five months in prison for those charges.
The IRS Criminal Division and the IRS Special Enforcement Program investigated the current case. The conviction highlights federal authorities’ ongoing efforts to combat tax fraud and hold repeat offenders accountable.
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