Najeebah Tanzil, of Pontiac, Michigan, pleaded guilty today for her involvement in a scheme to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade announced today.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Carolyn Weber, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
According to court records, from July 2009 through June 2010, Tanzil caused 15 fraudulent tax returns, which she knew to be fraudulent, to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service. These returns, filed in her name and the names of others, contained false W-2 wage and withholding information as well as claims for the First Time Homebuyer and Education credits to which the filers were not entitled to. In total, the tax returns requested refunds of approximately $168,500.
“Falsifying documents to obtain or increase Federal Income Tax refunds is a serious crime that undermines our tax system. Investigating these types of crimes is a priority for IRS-CI" said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Carolyn Weber.
The defendant faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a fine of $250,000 and will be required to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $168,584.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross MacKenzie.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
