A Hollywood man is facing federal charges alleging he sought more than $65 million from the IRS by falsely claiming that his nonexistent farming business was entitled to COVID-19-related tax credits.

A federal grand jury indictment charges Kevin J. Gregory, 55, with 17 counts of making false claims to the IRS. Gregory was arrested on May 25 by special agents with the IRS Criminal Investigation unit.

During the pandemic, Congress authorized an employee retention tax credit to help small businesses, which were allowed to use the credits to reduce employment tax owed to the IRS. To qualify, a business had to have been in operation in 2020 and to have experienced at least a partial suspension of its operations because of government orders related to COVID-19 or a significant decline in profits. The credit was an amount equal to a set percentage of the wages that the business paid to its employees during a particular time period.

Congress also authorized the IRS to give a credit against employment taxes to reimburse businesses for wages paid to employees who were on sick or on family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. The paid sick and family leave credit was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during the leave.

According to a federal indictment unsealed on May 25, from November 2020 to April 2022, Gregory made false claims to the IRS for the payment of nearly $65.4 million in tax refunds for an allegedly non-existent Beverly Hills-based farming and transportation company named Elijah USA Farm Holdings. The IRS issued a portion of the refunds to Gregory, who allegedly used more than $2.7 million for personal expenses.

If convicted, Gregory faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each false claims charge.

Assistant United States Attorneys Valerie L. Makarewicz and Gregory D. Bernstein, of the Major Frauds Section, are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866)720-5721, or visit justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.