Four Californians Charged in More Than $93 Million COVID Tax Credit Fraud; Two Also Accused of Shooting the Scheme's Leader
On June 26, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, a city in Los Angeles County, California, unsealed a grand jury indictment charging four Californians with obtaining more than $93 million through false COVID-19 tax credit claims, the largest known scheme of its kind in the United States, with two of them also accused of shooting the scheme's organizer to silence him. All four were arrested that day. A Los Angeles federal grand jury had returned the indictment on June 11, 2025.
The defendants are Kristerpher Turner, 52, of Harbor City; Toriano Knox, 55, of Los Angeles; Kenya Jones, 46, of Compton; and Joyce Johnson, 55, of Victorville. They are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to file false claims, among other counts.
Prosecutors said that from June 2020 to December 2024, the four filed false claims for sick and family leave wage tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on behalf of at least 148 businesses, including sham businesses, seeking a total of about $247,956,938, and that the IRS actually issued Treasury checks of at least about $93 million. Turner charged each client 20 percent to 40 percent of the money obtained.
The indictment further alleges that on August 29, 2023, Knox and Jones, among others, shot Turner multiple times in broad daylight at an office park in Gardena in an attempt to kill him and keep him from cooperating. Turner survived but was left paralyzed. The two are also charged with attempted murder of a witness and using a firearm in a violent crime. Prosecutors said each mail fraud count carries up to 20 years, attempted murder up to 30 years, and the firearms count up to life in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Reidy, Haoxiaohan Cai, and Kevin J. Butler. An indictment is only an allegation, and all four defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
(Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于洛杉矶市中心第一街与百老汇交界的美国法院大楼。Daniel L. Lu 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The United States Courthouse at First Street and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Daniel L. Lu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
