The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida has issued a public statement regarding the Port St. Lucie-based tax preparer being found guilty of tax evasion and lying on naturalization applications.
A Port St. Lucie tax agent was sentenced on February 11 to 36 months in federal prison for defrauding taxpayers of more than $175,000 and attempting to obtain U.S. citizenship by concealing his crimes from immigration officials.
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Wislett Metayer, 45, and ordered her to pay $167,792.45 in restitution. A federal jury in West Palm Beach previously convicted Metayer on 32 counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of false tax returns and one count of making false statements in connection with naturalization.
“This defendant abused his client’s trust and stole money from American taxpayers,” said Jason A. Redding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “He inflated his refund to increase fees, costing the U.S. Treasury more than $175,000. At the same time, he concealed his crimes and attempted to obtain U.S. citizenship. Cheating in our tax system and cheating in our immigration process will not be tolerated.”
“Turning a tax return into a bogus refund tool steals money from all honest taxpayers,” said Ron Recker, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Taxation’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation. “Mr. Metayer chose to cheat the system and even lied to obtain citizenship. The jury saw through and the courts held him accountable. IRS special agents will continue to protect the integrity of the tax system and work with our partners to hold those who defrauded accountable.”
According to court records, Metayer worked as a professional tax preparer from 2019 to approximately 2025. To attract clients and justify inflated preparation costs, Mr. Metayer, without the client’s knowledge, prepared dozens of federal income tax returns containing false business losses, deductions, and deductions and submitted them to increase refunds. This scheme resulted in a loss to the U.S. Treasury of over $175,000.
Mr. Metayer is a Haitian national and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Metayer applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in March 2024, while the tax evasion scheme was underway. As part of the application process, Mr. Metayer was asked to disclose whether he has ever been convicted of, charged with, or arrested for a crime or crime, and whether he has ever committed a crime or crime for which he was not arrested. Metayer concealed ongoing criminal activity and falsely denied having committed such criminal activity.
After serving his sentence, Metayer will be deported from the United States.
United States Attorney Redding Quiñones. Special agent in charge of lockers. The announcement was made by Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami.
IRS‑CI Florida Field Office and HSI Miami investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Osborne prosecuted the case.
