Brooklyn return preparer pleads guilty to preparing false tax returns for clients

Date: Aug. 28, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

A Brooklyn, New York, woman pleaded guilty today to preparing false tax returns for clients.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Edris Cust operated a tax preparation business called Cust Tax Service. From approximately 2019 through 2023, Cust prepared false and fraudulent individual tax returns for multiple clients of Cust Tax Service. These returns included, among other false items, false elections for head-of-household filing status, sales of capital assets resulting in losses and rental receipts, as well as inflated rental expenses. These false items resulted in Cust’s clients reporting to the IRS income tax returns that sought refunds they were not entitled to receive or lower taxes than they should have paid. Cust caused a total loss to the IRS of more than $1.4 million.

Cust pleaded guilty to one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return. She will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York made the announcement.

IRS-CI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Richard J. Kelley and Joseph D.G. Castro of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.