Michael Sigall Tax Services
Outcome
Michael Sigall of West Berlin, New Jersey pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns after fabricating residential energy improvement credits for hundreds of clients over six years, causing over $16 million in tax losses.
Details
Michael Sigall — $16M Fabricated Residential Energy Credits, New Jersey (2018–2024)
Outcome: Sigall pleaded guilty July 16, 2025 to two counts of aiding and assisting in preparation of false tax returns; sentencing scheduled December 2, 2025; maximum three years imprisonment and substantial fines per count.
Michael Sigall operated a tax return preparation business in West Berlin, New Jersey (Camden County) and between 2018 and 2024 prepared and filed federal income tax returns for hundreds of clients containing materially false statements. Sigall's primary fraud vehicle was fabricating residential energy improvement tax credits—claiming that clients had made qualifying home energy improvements when no such improvements existed. The scheme caused over $16 million in tax losses to the United States.
Sigall pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O'Hearn in the District of New Jersey on July 16, 2025. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman and investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
The residential energy improvement credit scheme is distinct from the more common Schedule C and gambling-loss fraud: it exploits a legitimate policy incentive (home energy efficiency improvements) by fabricating the underlying qualifying expenditures. Clients typically receive substantial refunds and may not realize their returns contain fabricated credits until an IRS audit or when the scheme is discovered.
Primary Source: Camden County Man Admits Preparing False Tax Returns and Causing Tax Loss of More Than $16,000,000
How Crucible Prevents This
Sigall's scheme fabricated residential energy improvement credits across hundreds of returns over six years—a pattern that Crucible's cross-client anomaly detection would surface by flagging a preparer with abnormally high energy credit utilization rates relative to comparable client profiles. Mandatory documentation gates requiring contractor invoices, property records, and improvement receipts before energy credits are applied would halt the scheme at the point of fabrication. The six-year duration (2018-2024) shows how long systematic credit fraud persists without documentation-level controls.
Don't let this happen to your organization. See how Crucible works.
See How Crucible Works