Jackson, Miss. - Nikki Thomas, 37, of Jackson, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to 92 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for stolen identity refund fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis. Thomas was also ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $771,956.27.
Thomas conspired to defraud the government by using personal identifying information, including names and social security numbers which had been stolen from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and other locations. The information was then used by Thomas and her co-conspirators to file false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. The tax returns claimed that the tax payers were owed a refund. Refunds were then electronically deposited into various bank accounts in Mississippi belonging to Thomas and her co-conspirators.
This case was investigated by the United State Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon is prosecuting the case.
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
disaster@leo.gov
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
