On January 15, 2025, in the Middle District of Louisiana, Damian Raby, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money, and one count of obstructing the due administration of the internal revenue laws.

According to court documents, from August 2022 until at least April 2023, Raby was a business owner and purported to offer a variety of services, such as tax preparation, assistance obtaining business financing, and loans. Raby prepared and filed tax forms with the IRS, asking the IRS to assign Employer Identification Numbers ("EINs") to fraudulent businesses, knowing that he would be required to provide EINs on the fraudulent Employee Retention Credit (ERC) applications he intended to file. Raby filed tax forms fraudulently claiming the ERC on behalf of numerous businesses purportedly located in the Baton Rouge area, business that either did not exist during the COVID-19 pandemic or that did not have any legitimate business activity.

By filing the fraudulent forms, Raby would cause the IRS to issue tax refund checks and mail the checks to addresses that Raby controlled. In total, Raby filed false and fraudulent applications on behalf of dozens of businesses. Based on these claims, the IRS issued and mailed approximately 33 checks, totaling approximately $4.4 million.

Source: The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: M.D. La., Info. filed Dec. 16, 2024: M.D. La., Plea Agr. filed Jan. 15, 2025: and M.D. La., Docket History dated Jan. 15, 2025.