Two Men Indicted In $3M Tax Fraud Conspiracy

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A 10-count indictment charges two defendants with conspiracy to defraud the United States and making false claims for over three million dollars in tax refunds, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, between approximately April 2022 and May 2023, Henry Remington Herod, 42, of Minneapolis, and Matthew McDowell, 44, of Port Allen, Louisiana, conspired to defraud the United States by preparing and filing false federal income tax returns for themselves and others. The returns included false employment, income, and tax credit information they knew to be false, and which resulted in large refunds the filing taxpayers were not entitled to.

According to court documents, for tax year 2021, Herod prepared and filed false tax returns claiming refundable sick and family leave tax credits available to certain self-employed individuals unable to work due to COVID-19. For tax year 2022, Herod and McDowell prepared and filed false tax returns claiming refundable tax credits for federal taxes paid on fuel ostensibly used for off-highway business purposes. Collectively, the defendants knowingly and willfully completed and filed 115 fraudulent federal income tax returns, falsely claiming approximately $3,032,839 in tax refunds the filers were not entitled to.

Herod and McDowell are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and Herod is charged with nine counts of making false claims. Herod made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on December 12, 2024, and McDowell made his initial appearance on December 26, 2024; both defendants were released upon conditions.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the IRS, Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.