CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Logan County woman was sentenced to five years of probation, with five months of this sentence to be served on home incarceration, and ordered to pay $188,665 in restitution for a preparing fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Maria Antoinette Martin, 64, of Chapmanville, previously pleaded guilty in October 2015 to the federal tax crime.
From 2011 through 2013, Martin admitted to preparing 43 fraudulent tax returns from her home. She falsely claimed Earned Income Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits for her clients, knowing her clients did not qualify for these inflated tax credits. Martin also knew that falsely claiming these tax credits would increase the amount of federal income tax refunds for her clients. Once Martin electronically filed the returns, she received the tax refunds by direct deposit in bank accounts designated by her. Martin then split the tax refunds with her clients. As a result of her fraud, the United States Treasury paid $188,665 in fraudulent refunds.
The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
