The U.S. Attorney's
office in the middle district in Montgomery is sounding the warning of cheating
the IRS; don't do it.
Federal investigators
arrested 4 people this week for allegedly stealing people's identities and
using that scheme to file fraudulent tax returns.
Court records show the
following people have been indicted by a federal grand jury:
LaQuanta Clayton;
charged with aggravated identity theft and theft of government money. Clayton
faces up to 10 years each of the 15 theft of government money counts and a
mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts.
Scottie Alice Johnson;
charged with conspiracy to commit theft of public funds and to defraud the IRS
and with theft of public funds. Investigators say Johnson conspired with others
and filed false federal income tax returns with stolen identities. Johnson
allegedly had those tax refunds deposited into several bank accounts. Court
records show those accounts received at least $1.3 million. Johnson faces 5
years imprisonment for the conspiracy count and 10 years imprisonment for each
theft of public funds count if convicted.
Lea'Tice Phillips;
charged with 37 counts of filing false claims, wire fraud, computer fraud and
aggravated identity theft. Investigators say Phillips conspired with Antoinette
Djonret and others to file false tax returns using stolen identities. Court
records show Djonret filed over 1,000 false tax returns that claimed more than
$1.7 million in fraudulent tax refunds.
The grand jury also
returned indictments against Tabitha Stinson, Melba Wilson, Chantresa Hayes,
and Corey Means for their roles in the same conspiracy. Phillips faces 10 years
in prison for the conspiracy to file false claims, 20 years for each wire fraud
count, 10 years for each computer fraud count and a mandatory two-year sentence
for the aggravated identity theft counts if she's convicted.
Chequila Motley; charged
with conspiracy, 5 counts of wire fraud and 5 counts of aggravated identity
theft. Court records show Motley worked for a state agency in Alabama and had
access to individuals' personal identifying information as part of her job. Motley
allegedly stole identities and sold them to several co-conspirators. Those
co-conspirators used the stolen identities to file false tax returns that
requested tax refunds from the IRS. Motley faces up to 10 years in prison for
the conspiracy charge, up to 20 years for each wire fraud charge, and a
mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts.
If you feel you've been
a victim of stolen identity the IRS is encouraging you to contact them at the
IRS Protection Center at 1-800-908-4490.
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