NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey tax preparer faces a 16-count federal indictment for allegedly falsifying tax returns and fraudulently obtaining funds from COVID-19 relief programs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Anne Bonilla, 53, of Linden, N.J., was arraigned Monday in federal court in Newark, where she pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and filing false tax returns. Bonilla, also known as “Anne Davinovish,” is accused of orchestrating a scheme that defrauded both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Federal prosecutors allege Bonilla, operating through her business Anne Accounting Services Inc., falsified expenses on at least 46 client tax returns to inflate refunds. This resulted in an estimated $340,000 in improper tax refunds. She also allegedly used fraudulent employer and electronic filer identification numbers to file additional false returns, netting more than $790,000 in refunds, including over $100,000 linked to her own name and those of associates.
Bonilla is further accused of submitting fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors say the applications, which misrepresented business information, secured a total of $241,200 in federal relief funds. Authorities linked one of these applications, submitted under a third party’s name, back to Bonilla.
If convicted, Bonilla faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of preparing false tax returns, and up to 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy and wire fraud. Fines could reach $250,000 per count or twice the financial loss caused.
Federal investigators from IRS-Criminal Investigation led the probe, with U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger crediting their work in uncovering the alleged fraud.
“Bonilla’s actions exploited both the tax system and emergency pandemic relief programs,” Sellinger’s office said in a statement.
Prosecutors emphasized the scale of the alleged scheme, which involved multiple clients, false identities, and altered bank records.
Bonilla’s trial date has not yet been set.