KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Colorado Springs, Colo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for her role in a tax fraud scheme.
Kalena Latoya Winston, 41, of Colorado Springs, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to five years and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Winston to pay $254,893 in restitution to the IRS. Winston has remained in federal custody since her arrest in Colorado in February 2016.
Winston, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2016, operated a return preparation scheme for tax years 2011 and 2012. Winston solicited clients who lived in Colorado, Kansas and Tennessee, and prepared and submitted the returns electronically. Most of the false returns were filed with the IRS service center in Kansas City, Mo.
Winston’s main practice was to include false Schedule C businesses on her clients’ returns in order to increase the amount of the refunds by qualifying them for, or maximizing, the Earned Income Tax Credit. Winston also occasionally claimed false dependents on the tax returns. On two occasions, Winston used the personal identifying information the client provided her for the 2010 tax year in order to file a return without that client’s knowledge or permission for the following tax year.
Winston received debit cards containing the tax refunds from the false returns. Instead of listing her clients’ address on the returns, Winston listed the addresses of her co-conspirators so that she could maintain control over the refunds.
Co-defendant Pete Scott, 38, of Spring Hill, Fla., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy on Nov. 17, 2016, and awaits sentencing. Scott admitted that he distributed the refund debit cards to the taxpayers after money had already been withdrawn from the cards.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
