A Fridley man who runs a tax preparation business allegedly prepared and filed false business tax returns for multiple day-care centers over a six-year period and has been charged with 26 felonies.

Khadar Ismail Egal, also known as Jabarti Mohamed, also prepared and filed fraudulent individual income tax returns from 2016 to 2020 for multiple business owners who said they relied on Mohamed for bookkeeping and tax matters, according to charges filed by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

"The complaint states that Mr. Mohamed's fraud has led to a sprawling network of spin-off audits of individuals and businesses which have resulted in assessments of millions of dollars in taxes owed to the state," the Revenue Department stated Monday in a news release.

Mohamed, whose tax preparation business was called Jigis & Associates LLC, filed false business returns for the Liban Child Care Center; Angels Fun Area; Diversity Daycare Center Inc.; MN Best Child Care Center, Inc.; St. Paul Madina Academy LLC; and Whittier Childcare Ltd. and he knowingly claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in nondeductible business expenses on their returns, the charges state.

Mohamed also owes over $91,000 in income tax from his own fraudulently filed individual income tax returns from tax years 2018 through 2020 and unfiled income tax returns in 2021 and 2022, the Minnesota Department of Revenue stated.

Each tax-related felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.