SAN FRANCISCO - Charleszetta Brown, a/k/a Candice Taylor, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $318,000 for conspiring to file false tax returns United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez announced.
Brown pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2012, to conspiring to file false claims in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286. According to her plea agreement, beginning in June 2008, Brown participated in a scheme to obtain fraudulent tax refunds from the IRS by filing false tax returns. Brown knew the returns were false when she filed them because the individuals whose names appeared on the tax returns did not supply the information used to prepare the returns. Brown admitted that, in many instances the person whose name appeared on the return did not give permission to have the tax return filed at all. In order to carry out the scheme, Brown used her own bank account as well as bank accounts of others involved in the scheme to receive the fraudulent refunds. When the fraudulent tax refund was issued by the IRS, the money would be withdrawn by the account holder who split the proceeds with Brown.
As part of the scheme, Khendria Williams and Sparkle Jernigan supplied names for use in the false filings. The names were sent through text messages to Brown’s phone. In addition, Clexton Ward obtained names to use on the false tax returns as well as names of individuals whose bank account information could be used to receive the false refunds.
On April 17, 2012, Brown, 43, of Antioch, was indictment by a federal grand jury. She was charged with conspiracy to file false claims.
On Aug. 10, 2011, Jernigan, 33, of Pittsburg, Calif., was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $31,786.
On Feb. 15, 2012, Williams, 36, of Pittsburg was sentenced to 4 months in prison and 4 months of home confinement, and ordered to pay $17,600 in restitution.
On March 13, 2013, Ward was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $318,000 in restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Newman and Special Assistant United States Attorney Charles Parker are prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS-CI.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
