Fayetteville, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, and Tracey D. Montaño, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, announced today that Henry Daryl Smith, age 34, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison on one count of False Claim for Tax Refund and 24 months on one count of Aggravated Identity Theft. The two sentences are to run consecutive for a total of 61 months. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville. In addition to the prison sentence, Smith was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of over $119,000 and restitution of $20,000 to One Bank and Trust.
A 12-count indictment was filed on Oct. 28, 2015 charging Smith with ten counts of false claims for tax refunds, one count of access device fraud, and one count of theft of government benefits. Smith pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment on Dec. 10, 2015. According to court records, Smith devised and executed a fraudulent tax refund scheme by creating false Forms W-2 on his personal computer which claimed fictitious wages earned and income taxes withheld from employment at businesses he owned, including Smith Lawn Service. Smith caused the false Forms W-2 to be submitted to the IRS with tax returns for himself and others, claiming fraudulent refunds based on the fictitious wages and withholdings, as part of the overall scheme to obtain monies from the IRS to which he was not entitled.
Further, on March 30, 2016, Smith pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging aggravated identity theft. According to the plea agreement, Smith obtained a $20,000 loan by fraudulently using the identity of one of his minor children on the loan application. Smith also pledged a vehicle as collateral against the loan which he no longer owned.
This case was investigated by IRS, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Sydney Butler prosecuted the case for the United States.
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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
