Seven charged in the largest Employee Retention Credit fraud case in the US, run through a 'credit repair' front
An indictment unsealed in January 2025 charges Keith Williams and six co-defendants with filing more than 8,000 fraudulent quarterly payroll tax returns between November 2021 and June 2023, seeking over $600 million in Employee Retention Credit and Sick and Family Leave Credit funds through a purported credit repair business called "Credit Reset." Prosecutors allege the defendants secured over $44 million and spent it on jewelry, designer clothing and luxury cars. One defendant, Tiffany Williams, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to 36 months in prison in May 2026; the outcomes for the other six defendants were not found, and they remain presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $44.0 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Employee Retention Credit (ERC) mill scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-10
The facts, as recorded
- An indictment unsealed 22 January 2025 at federal court in Central Islip, New York charges Keith Williams, Janine Davis, Morais Dicks, James Hames Jr., Jamari Lewis, Ewendra Mathurin and Tiffany Williams with conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, and aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns.
- Prosecutors allege the scheme primarily operated out of Keith Williams's purported credit repair business, called "Credit Reset."
- According to the indictment, between November 2021 and June 2023 the defendants filed over 8,000 quarterly payroll tax returns on behalf of themselves and their clients, claiming over $600 million in Employee Retention Credit and Sick and Family Leave Credit funds; several defendants also allegedly filed fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications.
- The claims were submitted for shell businesses that, prosecutors allege, in the vast majority of cases had no legitimate operations or employees.
- The defendants and co-conspirators allegedly secured over $44 million in government funds, which prosecutors say was spent on jewelry, electronics, designer clothing and luxury cars, including a Land Rover, a Polaris Slingshot and a Tesla Model Y seized from Williams's home.
- Prosecutors allege defendant Jamari Lewis, who performs as a rapper under the name "Mr. Chaketah," posted a song about the scheme online with an album cover featuring the IRS logo, and that Williams compared the fraud to "taking candy from a baby" in a recorded call.
- Six defendants were arrested in New York and arraigned before U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown; Jamari Lewis was arraigned separately.
- Tiffany Williams, 43, of Brooklyn, a tax preparer, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to 36 months in prison, in a sentencing announced by the Justice Department on 13 May 2026.
- In announcing that sentence the Justice Department said Tiffany Williams and her co-conspirators sought more than $600 million in credits they were not entitled to receive, causing a loss to the United States of approximately $45 million.
- The sources reviewed report no plea, verdict or sentence for Keith Williams, Janine Davis, Morais Dicks, James Hames Jr., Jamari Lewis or Ewendra Mathurin.
- U.S. Attorney John J. Durham: "As alleged, the defendants shamefully took advantage of a global health emergency to line their pockets with millions of dollars that were intended for struggling families and small businesses."
Why this case matters
By dollar figure and by number of false returns filed, this is the largest Employee Retention Credit fraud case charged in the United States as of the indictment. It is also the clearest documented example of an ERC mill run under a “credit repair” business front, a direct overlap with the credit repair scams covered elsewhere on this site, and of a scheme that, prosecutors allege, filed for genuine clients as well as shell businesses of its own.
A credit repair business as the front
Prosecutors allege the operation ran primarily out of Keith Williams’s business, “Credit Reset,” a company purporting to offer credit repair services. If the allegations are proven, it illustrates how the same kind of company that promises to fix a consumer’s credit score can, on the business side, promise to fix a company’s pandemic-era finances, using the same aggressive, no-questions-asked sales model.
Flaunting the proceeds
According to the indictment, the defendants did not simply spend the alleged proceeds quietly. Prosecutors allege one defendant recorded a rap song about the scheme, titled with a pun on the IRS’s own initials, and that Williams described defrauding the program as “taking candy from a baby” in a recorded call, allegations prosecutors have cited as evidence of the defendants’ state of mind.
The caveat
One of the seven defendants, Tiffany Williams, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and been sentenced to 36 months in prison. That is proven as to her. The remaining allegations, including those against Keith Williams and the Credit Reset business, the $44 million secured, the luxury spending and the social-media conduct, come from the unsealed indictment and have not been proven. The other six defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, and the sources reviewed report no plea or verdict for them.
Sources
- Seven individuals charged in largest employee retention credit scheme case in the United States. US Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Accessed 2026-09-22. Supports: The seven defendants' names, the indictment date and court, the Credit Reset front business, the 8,000-plus returns and $600 million sought, the $44 million secured, the luxury spending, the social-media conduct, and the officials' quotes.
- Brooklyn Woman Sentenced in $600 Million Covid Tax Credit Scheme. US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Accessed 2026-10-10. Supports: Tiffany Williams's guilty plea to one count of wire fraud, her 36-month sentence announced 13 May 2026, the 8,000-plus false returns, the more than $600 million sought and the approximately $45 million loss to the United States.