OXFORD, Miss. - Robert H. Norman, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi; Ruben Florez, Special Agent in Charge of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Mid-States Field Division, and Jerome R. McDuffie, Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, New Orleans Field Office, announce that:
Veronica Lloyd, 46 of Enid, Mississippi, was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, by United States District Judge Glen H. Davidson, in Aberdeen, Mississippi. Lloyd was sentenced to serve a total of thirty-three (33) months in federal prison following by 3 years supervised release and was ordered to pay $52,341.67 in restitution to her victims.
On June 21, 2017, Lloyd pled guilty to converting to her own use a Treasury Check issued to another person, using threats of force to impede a Department of the Treasury Special Agent, and committing wire fraud.
The charges were the result of a joint investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Department of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, into allegations that Enid, MS residents had monies from their yearly income tax refunds taken illegally and that subsequently they were contacted by a fictitious “IRS agent" and told not to contact the IRS about the issues. Lloyd also threatened to strike an agent of the Department of Treasure with a shovel, and later investigation revealed her use of interstate wire communication to commit fraud.
“It is the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s mission to protect the integrity of the Internal Revenue Service and promote the fair administration of our federal tax system," said Special Agent in Charge Ruben Florez of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA’s) Mid-States Field Division. “TIGTA and its law-enforcement partners will investigate individuals that attempt to assault its employees and interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws through impersonation schemes, and will do everything within its power to ensure that those involved are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Special Agent in Charge, Jerome R. McDuffie, stated, “Veronica Lloyd will serve time in prison for her victimization of Mississippi taxpayers. She stooped to means such as stealing the tax refunds of her identity theft victims, and impersonating an IRS employee in an effort to obstruct the efforts of federal law enforcement officers. Every day of her prison term is a well-deserved reward for her actions."
This case was investigated jointly by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Department of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamiel Wiggins and Clay Joyner.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
