The director of African American Affairs at Minnesota State University (MSU), Mankato is no longer employed by the university after a federal jury convicted him of a tax fraud scheme prosecutors said generated approximately $387,000 in fraudulent tax refunds.
Cortez Hollis worked in the university’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) division, where he led the African American Affairs office.
A federal jury found Hollis guilty in June on 20 counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hollis owned and operated Hollis Tax Time, a Minnesota tax preparation business that prosecutors said he used to prepare false tax returns for clients.
Prosecutors said Hollis told clients he could obtain tax credits other preparers did not know about. Instead, they said he created fictitious businesses and claimed thousands of dollars in business losses clients had never incurred, generating tax refunds they were not entitled to receive.
The Justice Department said Hollis frequently paid himself tax preparation fees of $2,000 or more from those refunds, sometimes without his clients’ knowledge.
At trial, prosecutors established that Hollis added more than $1 million in fraudulent business losses to client tax returns and sought approximately $387,000 in refunds clients were not entitled to receive.
“No matter the scheme, the agency, or the program involved, those who cheat on their taxes for personal enrichment undermine the very foundation of public trust,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.
Hollis faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, according to the DOJ.
MSU celebrated Hollis’ comeback story
Just weeks after Hollis began serving as interim director of African American Affairs, MSU-Mankato’s Centennial Student Union published a profile highlighting what it described as his journey from homelessness to campus leadership.
A 2024 post recounted how Hollis said he went from sleeping in abandoned buildings and eating from garbage bins in inner-city Milwaukee to earning undergraduate degrees in ethnic studies and gender and women’s studies at MSU-Mankato in 2015, followed by a master’s degree in economics and multicultural studies. The university profile also said Hollis was pursuing a doctorate focused on ethnic studies.
Throughout the profile, Hollis described MSU-Mankato as the place where he found support and purpose.
He also said the university had “raised” him and expressed his desire to create that same sense of belonging for students.
“There are many students here hiding their fears because of how they were raised, the backgrounds in which they come from. This is our background. This is where we come from,” Hollis shared. “But this is how the university has changed us.”
MSU-Mankato responds
MSU-Mankato told Alpha News that Hollis’ last day with the university was Aug. 2. The school did not say whether Hollis resigned, was terminated or left for another reason, despite being asked.
University officials said Hollis was hired Oct. 28, 2024, his position did not require a background check, and that his position was probationary at the time his employment ended. The university said it first became aware of Hollis’ legal troubles at the end of April.
Asked about the jury’s verdict, the university wrote, “Minnesota State University, Mankato is committed to providing a respectful and professional environment for employees and students alike. The University expects that employees abide by all state and federal laws both while at work and while on their own personal time.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
