Hattiesburg, Mississippi - Rebecca Sue Carpenter, 56, of Columbia, Mississippi, was sentenced on Sept. 25, 2014 to 82 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for filing false federal income tax returns with the IRS, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Special Agent in Charge Gabriel L. Grchan with IRS Criminal Investigation. She was also ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $809,337.15.
Carpenter previously pled guilty to two counts of filing false federal income tax returns. In 2008, she falsely claimed a tax refund of $392,804, and in 2009 she falsely claimed a tax refund of $399,493, all based upon fraudulent withholdings listed on fictitious forms.
“The defendant in this case stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in income tax refunds to which she was not entitled," U.S. Attorney Davis said. “No matter how sophisticated, tax fraud is pure theft. Her actions victimized all members of the public and we will relentlessly pursue those who attempt to undermine the integrity of our tax system."
Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent in Charge of IRS - Criminal Investigation, stated, “Rebecca Carpenter thought she could get away with cheating the government by filing fraudulent tax returns requesting falsely inflated tax refunds. Well, she was wrong, and today she was sentenced to prison for her actions. On behalf of IRS - CI, I would also like to thank the United States Attorney’s Office and AUSA Carla Clark for their work toward the prosecution of this case."
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla J. Clark.
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
