Indictment: 6 accused of filing 9,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking $177 million in refunds

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA/Gray News) — A tax preparation service used a variety of bogus deductions to file thousands of returns seeking $177 million in fraudulent refunds, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Mobile said the investigation is part of an ongoing operation led by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI.Defendants named in the indictmentThe lead defendant is Jennifer Beverly, 47, who owned JB Accounting Tax Service LLC on Broad Street. She is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.The indictment also names one of her employees, former University of Alabama basketball player Kennedy Lawrence Stovall Winston, 42. Winston, who attended Blount High School, also faces an unrelated federal fraud charge related to stolen Treasury checks.Four other employees of the tax preparation service face conspiracy and wire fraud charges:Jadasha Bowman, 28Solida Lucille