Neivda Hicks Gets 54 Months for Tax Fraud, ID Theft

Neivda Hicks, 33, of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison for orchestrating a multi-year tax refund scheme fueled by identity theft and outright fabrication. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen, marks the end of a federal case detailing how Hicks systematically exploited the tax system for personal gain.

Between 2013 and 2016, Hicks operated as an unlicensed tax preparer, taking money to file returns for at least 53 individuals. But her services came with a criminal twist: she routinely inserted false information to inflate refunds. Hicks falsely claimed education credits and self-employment losses—phantom expenses with no basis in reality—all designed to reduce tax liability and trigger larger government payouts.

Even more brazen, Hicks listed her own family members and incarcerated inmates—some imprisoned alongside her husband—as dependents on returns she filed for clients. These stolen identities allowed her to claim thousands in unauthorized benefits. She never disclosed she was a paid preparer, disguising the fraudulent filings as if the taxpayers had filed them personally.

Hicks didn’t stop with her clients. She filed her own false returns for 2012 through 2015, embedding the same deceptive tactics. In total, she submitted at least 32 materially false tax returns—her own and those of others—fueling requests for over $200,000 in federal tax refunds. More than $150,000 of that sum stemmed directly from the lies embedded in the filings.

Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced the sentencing alongside Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation in Washington, D.C. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton, who laid out a paper trail of deceit that federal investigators spent years reconstructing.

Court records, including filings and evidence, are available through the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the PACER system under Case No. 4:17-cr-83. The case underscores the reach of IRS-CI in cracking down on preparer fraud—a crime that doesn’t just cheat the system, but shifts the burden onto honest taxpayers.