A Santa Clarita Valley tax preparer pleaded guilty Monday to lying on federal income tax returns and COVID-19 business-relief loan applications.
Kerwin Aldric Jordan, 71, of Castaic, pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to four counts of aiding in the preparation of false federal income tax returns and one count of wire fraud.
According to his plea agreement, Jordan was the president of The Jordan Corporation, a tax preparation business, and also owned and operated a business called Jordan and Jordan A Financial Conquest. Jordan held himself out as a tax attorney and certified public accountant, neither of which he was, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Jordan falsely reported that the taxpayer-clients had one or more businesses, even though he knew the businesses did not exist. He also reported losses for the non-existent businesses and used those losses to reduce the taxpayer-clients’ taxable income, court papers show.
From 2018 to 2023, Jordan filed more than 1,370 federal tax returns for clients, which reported total business losses of more than $73 million. Prosecutors said the tax returns Jordan prepared resulted in more than $25 million in losses to the U.S. Treasury.
Jordan also lied on loan applications for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, two programs Congress created in March 2020 to help businesses weather the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordan applied for PPP loans for his companies and received a total of $188,667. He also applied for EIDL loans for Jordan and Jordan; Euphrates Wealth Asset Management, of which he was the owner; and Lifestyles of the Rich in Faith Church, a nonprofit organization of which he was the principal, receiving a total of $276,600.
To obtain the loans, Jordan falsely reported that the companies had employees when, in fact, they had none, documents show.
U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson scheduled an Oct. 5 sentencing hearing, at which time Jordan will face up to 32 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.