West St. Paul Man Sentenced To 30 Months For Role In $3 Million Tax Fraud Scheme

ST. PAUL, MN — A 43-year-old West St. Paul man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.18 million in restitution for his role in a scheme that sought to defraud the IRS out of roughly $3 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced.

Henry Remington Herod was sentenced July 16 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud.

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Prosecutors said Herod conspired with Matthew McDowell, who was sentenced separately on April 6, and others between April 2022 and at least May 2023 to file false federal income tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds.

According to court documents, Herod recruited people to hand over their names, addresses and Social Security numbers, then used fabricated employment, income and tax credit details to file the returns on their behalf. He charged participants a cut of their refunds as a fee.

For tax year 2021, Herod filed 42 fraudulent returns claiming $1,290,267 in refunds by falsely invoking refundable sick and family leave credits tied to COVID-19 care for the self-employed. In 2022, he filed 60 more fraudulent returns claiming $1,460,143, this time relying on false fuel tax credits.

Prosecutors said Herod also taught McDowell how to prepare the fraudulent filings, including the fuel tax credit scheme, in exchange for $400. With that help, McDowell filed 13 fraudulent 2022 returns claiming $282,429. In total, the two filed 115 fraudulent returns seeking about $3,032,839 in refunds.

"Stealing from the United States is stealing from hardworking Americans," U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said in a statement, thanking IRS Criminal Investigation for its partnership on the case.

Adam Jobes, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation's Chicago Field Office, called the case another example of greed tied to pandemic-era benefit programs, adding that investigators adapt as fraud tactics shift from program to program.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy prosecuted the case.