A Kingsport man is facing a lengthy sentence in prison after pleading guilty last week to tax crimes and wire fraud.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Edward Zanes, along with others, filed fake tax returns soliciting fraudulent refunds from COVID relief programs.
They specifically sought money from the employee retention credit and paid sick and family leave credit, which Congress created seeking to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zanes and his co-conspirators made fake businesses without any employees or operations to get the federal funds, the DOJ said.
Zanes helped file false tax returns for the fake businesses and directed the tax returns to be sent to addresses controlled by him and his co-conspirators, the DOJ noted.
Altogether, the group received more than $1.8 million from the Internal Revenue Service after attempting to claim over $3.4 million in tax refunds by filing fake tax returns,according to the DOJ.
Zanes will be sentenced on January 7, 2026. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years for conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and each count of mail fraud. Furthermore, he faces three years in prison for every count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.
Ryan Glidewell, one of Zanes’ co-conspirators, will be sentenced on November 12th after pleading guilty in July. He also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years for conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for money laundering, and a three-year maximum penalty for aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.
Aylissa Glidewell, Ryan Glidewell’s wife, also pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to this case in March. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
