According to Nancy E. Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, four tax preparers have been sentenced to a combined 105 months in federal prison for defrauding the IRS of nearly $8 million. The group, led by 65-year-old Festus Adenisimi of Mansfield, Texas, ran a bogus tax preparation scheme through FA Tax in Grand Prairie.
Adenisimi pleaded guilty in September 2024 to filing false tax returns and obtaining two Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling $760,415. In March 2025, he was sentenced to 57 months in prison by U.S. Senior District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn and ordered to pay $10,283,737.65 in restitution.
FA Tax’s three additional tax preparers pleaded guilty to similar counts. Sunshyne Endurance Ogungbemi, 37, of Waxahachie, Texas, was sentenced to 18 months in jail and required to pay $7,533,550.84 in restitution. Chris Mary Tijerina, 40, of Crandall, Texas, was sentenced to 15 months and ordered to pay $7,560,661.69. Cynthia Bradley, 45, of Belleville, Illinois, received a 15-month sentence and was ordered to pay $5,768,106.28.
“The defendants orchestrated a multi-year tax fraud scheme that caused substantial loss to the government,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson. “We will continue to track down those who attempt to cheat the American people, and we will hold them accountable with prison time.”
Gerardo Gomez, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, applauded the IRS-CI team’s actions, saying, “The 105 months of federal prison time for the members of FA Tax who falsified tax returns demonstrate that tax fraud is not a victimless crime.” IRS-Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation, while Marty Basu, Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecuted the case.