Defendant purchased a child’s name and Social Security number to earn higher tax return
INDIANAPOLIS - United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced the indictment of a former Indianapolis resident for preparing and assisting in filing fraudulent tax returns. Doris Brown, 48, was indicted before a federal grand jury this week.
Brown operated a business called “Get Money Taxes" on the Eastside of Indianapolis where she prepared and filed clients’ tax returns, something she had been doing for over 20 years. The indictment alleges that in 2010, she prepared and filed a false federal income tax return that artificially inflated her client’s refund - causing the IRS to refund the taxpayer more than what she was actually owed. Brown is alleged to have accomplished this by exploiting the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal tax credit designed to assist working low-to-middle income families. To inflate her client’s refund, Brown is alleged to have included false “business income" and “dependent" information on her client’s return.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that Brown purchased a child’s information from someone in the community, including name and Social Security number, for use as a “dependent" on a tax return. Brown then allegedly used the child’s information in preparing and filing the client’s tax return in 2010, knowing that the client had no relation to the child and could not claim the child as a dependent.
Additionally, the indictment alleges that Brown used the same child as a “dependent" on her own taxes that she filed in 2011, knowing that she had no relation to the child and could not claim the child as a dependent.
The IRS Criminal Investigation Division is committed to ensuring that all taxpayers pay their fair share," said Stephen Boyd, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. “We are aggressively serving the American people by investigating criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax fraud does not know a season - IRS Special Agents pursue criminals year round, not only at tax time. Taxpayers who might be thinking about cheating with the filing deadline looming should think twice or they will risk the consequences."
According to Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Linder, who is prosecuting the case, Brown could face up to six years if convicted on all counts.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
