The DOJ announced that Aylissa Glidewell, a 35-year-old from Kingsport, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud for her role in submitting fraudulent claims for COVID-19 employment tax credit refunds.
According to the DOJ, Glidewell’s scheme involved filing fraudulent tax returns to claim COVID-19 employment tax credits, such as the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit. These credits were designed to provide financial relief to businesses during the pandemic, but Glidewell and her co-conspirators created fake businesses with no employees or operations to claim these credits fraudulently. The fraudulent claims totaled over $3.4 million, with the IRS issuing approximately $1.8 million in refunds. In turn, Glidewell directed these refunds to addresses controlled by her and her co-conspirators.
Glidewell’s guilty plea was entered on March 12, 2025, before a U.S. District Judge in Greeneville, Tennessee. She now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 9, 2025. The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges, and governments worldwide introduced relief measures to support struggling businesses. This case underscores the government’s efforts to pursue all who took advantage of the global crisis.
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