WASHINGTON (Aug. 28, 2025) – Three Florida men have been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating a multi-year tax fraud scheme that caused up to $15 million in losses to the United States.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Jonathan Carillo was sentenced to 121 months in prison, Franklin Carter Jr. to 84 months, and Diandre T. Mentor to 36 months. From 2016 to 2020, Carter and Carillo owned and operated Neighborhood Advance Tax (NAT), a tax preparation business with a dozen offices across Florida, where fraudulent deductions were fabricated to inflate client refunds. Mentor, who managed NAT’s Orlando office from 2018 to 2019, also participated.
The defendants held training sessions to teach employees how to prepare false returns and later launched additional fraudulent businesses. Mentor co-founded Smart Tax & Finance in 2020, and in 2021 Carter, Carillo, and others opened Taxmates in the same locations previously used by NAT. Both operations continued preparing false returns, with Carter and Carillo responsible for losses exceeding $12 million and Mentor for more than $3 million.
Several co-conspirators have also been sentenced, including Emmanuel Almonor (57 months) and Adon Hemley (46 months).
U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger ordered all three men to serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms. Restitution was also ordered: Carter must pay approximately $12.5 million, Carrillo about $12.1 million, and Mentor more than $3 million.
IRS Criminal Investigation led the probe. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Michael L. Jones of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Testerman for the Middle District of Florida.
