A Greenville, Texas, resident was indicted today on 21 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to the indictment, Lourdes Ramirez assisted in the preparation of fraudulent federal income tax returns for years 2011 through 2013 containing false material matters such as false education credits and Schedule C expenses. Ramirez is also charged with using the U.S. Postal Service to submit her own fraudulent 2011 federal income tax return to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which falsely claimed an individual as Ramirez’s dependent without that individual’s knowledge.
If convicted, Ramirez faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the mail fraud charge and a mandatory term of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge. She also faces monetary penalties, supervised release and restitution.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Alexander Effendi and Melanie Smith of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Source: US Department of Justice
