Devonne Herrington, 64, of Delray Beach, is going down for cooking the books—her own and her clients’. She, along with her son Lorenzo Wright, 49, and Joyce Walker, 61, both also of Delray Beach, pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false federal tax returns. The trio ran a sham tax preparation business that promised big refunds—by lying straight to the IRS.
Herrington ran the outfit—first as Devonne’s LLC, then rebranded as Wright’s & Family LLC—and brought in Wright and Walker to prep returns. They met clients face-to-face, collected forms, then added fake credits and deductions without consent or documentation. First-time homebuyer credits? Faked. Education expense credits? Fabricated. Head of household status and phony business expenses? Slapped on returns without a second thought. All of it inflated refunds—and their own pockets.
The scam wasn’t subtle. Herrington, Wright, and Walker charged extra fees to file the fraudulent IRS schedules that claimed nonexistent benefits. Worse, they often filed returns without showing them to clients. No review. No copies provided. Just a paper trail of lies leading straight to the Internal Revenue Service—and straight into federal court.
Now, the fallout: dozens of clients are being audited, forced to repay the ill-gotten refunds. Meanwhile, Herrington didn’t file her own returns for 2010 and 2011. Walker did file—but lied, claiming fake education credits on her personal returns for those same years. Both admitted their crimes: Herrington to failure to file, Walker to filing false returns.
Justice is scheduled: Walker faces sentencing on January 27, 2017. Herrington and Wright follow on February 17, 2017—both before U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg. The conspiracy charge carries up to five years in prison. Walker faces an additional three years for her false filings. Herrington could get one year for ducking her own taxes.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, confirmed the case. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen L. Cohen. Court documents are available via the Southern District of Florida’s public docket at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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