Synergi Partners Lawsuits: ERC Fraud Claims and Federal Probe

Synergi Partners, a Florence, South Carolina tax credit consulting firm, has been sued at least three times in federal court by clients who alleged the company gave them faulty Employee Retention Credit advice and demanded large contingency fees for work they said was misleading or incomplete. All of the known client lawsuits settled on undisclosed terms. As of early 2025, the company remains the subject of an active federal criminal investigation into the processing of unsubstantiated tax credits and payments to referral partners.¹²

Who Synergi Partners Is

Synergi Partners, Inc. was co-founded in 2019 by Jim Brown and Tim Norwood, both described as veterans of the tax credit consulting industry. The firm marketed itself as “100% focused” on tax credits and incentives.³ Its most prominent line of business was the Employee Retention Tax Credit, a pandemic-era CARES Act provision. Synergi charged a contingency fee, typically 15 percent of the credits it calculated, and told clients the arrangement carried “no financial risk” because they paid only when credits were delivered.⁴

The Marywood University Lawsuit

The most prominent case was filed on June 22, 2022, by Marywood University, a private Catholic university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The suit, No. 3:22-cv-00991 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleged fraudulent inducement and sought a declaratory judgment that Marywood owed Synergi nothing.⁵

According to the complaint, Marywood signed a tax and accounting services agreement with Synergi in March 2021. Synergi then produced an analysis concluding the university was entitled to roughly $6 million in Employee Retention Tax Credits and invoiced Marywood for a 15 percent contingency fee of about $902,000, split into two installments. Marywood’s independent auditors, however, determined the university did not qualify for the credit at all.⁵⁶

The case resolved quickly. On July 6, 2022, Marywood’s counsel filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice after the parties reached a settlement on undisclosed terms. In a joint statement, the two sides characterized the dispute as stemming from “miscommunication” and a “difference of opinion” about tax eligibility, and said the resolution was “not the result of any fraud or intentional misconduct by Synergi.”⁵

The Dynamic Integrated Services Lawsuit

In August 2022, Dynamic Integrated Services, LLC sued Synergi in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Case No. 4:22-cv-02537. The complaint alleged fraudulent inducement, unconscionability, breach of the implied covenant of good faith, and sought to void the contract.⁷⁸

Dynamic said it had been referred to Synergi by Rodney Rich, a Pensacola-based financial planner who allegedly told the company that Synergi had “insider knowledge” and “key connections with Legislators in D.C.” Dynamic alleged that Synergi produced a tax credit package for the second quarter of 2021 without ever gathering the necessary payroll data, then invoiced the company for $205,013.64 without delivering the eligibility analysis their agreement required.⁸

The complaint also flagged what it called a contradiction in Synergi’s contract: a 15 percent contingency fee tied to tax credit dollars, alongside a disclaimer that the firm does not provide “tax advice, tax filings, or CPA services.” Dynamic described the agreement as a “contract of adhesion” with termination provisions that made exit “impossible and meaningless.”⁸ The case was dismissed with prejudice on October 14, 2022, with each side bearing its own legal costs, indicating a settlement.⁷

The Team 44 Restaurants Lawsuit

A third case, Team 44 Restaurants LLC v. Synergi Partners Incorporated, Case No. 2:22-cv-01326, was filed August 8, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. It began in Maricopa County Superior Court and was removed to federal court by Synergi, which also filed a counterclaim. The case terminated with prejudice on September 29, 2022, with each side bearing its own fees and costs.⁹

The Common Threads

Two features of Synergi’s business model surface repeatedly across the client complaints and related reporting. The first is the contingency fee itself. The American Institute of CPAs prohibits contingency fees for preparing original or amended tax returns because they can incentivize inflated filings. Synergi’s contracts attempted to sidestep that standard by disclaiming that the firm provides tax advice or CPA services, even as the fee was tied directly to the size of the calculated credit.⁴

The second is Synergi’s referral network. Referral sources received a 5 percent commission based on the contingency fees Synergi collected, and at least one named partner, Rodney Rich, is alleged to have recruited clients by touting Synergi’s supposed political connections.⁴

A separate point of friction was Synergi’s eligibility theory. To claim the ERC, a business generally had to show a government order caused a full or partial suspension of operations. Synergi took the position that OSHA workplace safety directives, “standing alone, constitute a ‘governmental order'” because they are “enforceable with penalties.” IRS attorney Rachel Leiser Levy rejected that reading, writing in a legal memo that OSHA communications “explicitly do not command or mandate any employer to take any specific action.” Ashley Hogsette, Synergi’s chief legal officer, told reporters the firm’s review involved a “thorough analysis of multiple criteria, extending well beyond OSHA and CDC.”¹⁰

The Federal Criminal Investigation

In September 2024, FITSNews reported that Synergi Partners was the subject of a “coordinated, cross-country” federal criminal investigation focused on the processing of unsubstantiated tax credits and improper payments to referral providers. Sources familiar with the investigation told the outlet that “Synergi Partners is going down.”²

As of February 2025, FITSNews confirmed the investigation remained active. No indictments of Synergi Partners, Jim Brown, or Tim Norwood had been publicly announced at that point, though the outlet noted a surge of sealed federal criminal filings in South Carolina that it could not link to any specific case.¹¹

Where This Fits in Broader ERC Enforcement

Synergi is one of many firms drawn into a widening federal crackdown. By October 2024, IRS Criminal Investigation had opened 504 criminal investigations involving more than $5.5 billion in ERC claims, producing over 45 federal cases charged and 27 convictions. The civil side had issued roughly 28,000 notices disallowing claims worth a combined $5 billion, plus 30,000 letters seeking to claw back credits already paid.²

In January 2025, the Department of Justice announced what it called the largest ERC fraud indictment to date, charging seven individuals accused of filing more than 8,000 fraudulent refund claims worth over $600 million. The DOJ has said ERC enforcement will remain “a substantial portion” of its attention “for years to come.” Authorities have made clear that enforcement targets not only businesses that claimed improper credits but also the promoter firms and individual professionals who facilitated those claims, and that the IRS has authority to pursue principals of firms even after those firms have ceased operations.²

1
Tax Notes. Lawsuits Target Business Practices of ERC Firms
2
FITSNews. Sources: Synergi Partners Part of Sweeping Federal Fraud Investigation
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Synergi Partners. About Us
4
FITSNews. South Carolina’s Synergi Partners Facing Scrutiny After Lawsuits
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Legal NewsLine. After Marywood University Refused to Pay $900K for Accounting Work, School Settles Case Against Firm
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The Times-Tribune. Marywood University Resolves Lawsuit With Firm Over Pandemic-Related Tax Credit Advice
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CourtListener. Dynamic Integrated Services LLC v. Synergi Partners Inc
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FITSNews. Dynamic Integrated Services LLC v. Synergi Partners Inc, Complaint
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CourtListener. Team 44 Restaurants LLC v. Synergi Partners Incorporated
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Alliant Global. IRS Warns About This Tactic to Claim ERC Tax Credit
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FITSNews. What’s Causing a Surge in Sealed Federal Criminal Filings