West Palm Beach resident and owner of Investment Equity Development, Inc. and Jacob G. Jeune, P.A., located in Miami-Dade County, was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service over a period of five years.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Tamara Jeune, a/k/a “Tamara Voltaire", 46, was the owner and operator of at least two tax preparation businesses. As part of her scheme, Jeune, who was previously convicted of tax preparation fraud, fraudulently obtained Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) and Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs) in the names of other individuals who acted as “straw" EFIN and PTIN holders. Jeune the used those EFINs and PTINs to file fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS using stolen personal identifying information (PII) of her clients and other individuals without their authorization and knowledge. These tax returns contained false wages, employment information, expenses, and deductions. The defendant also stole the PII of minors, who were at times dependents of her clients, and then submitted false tax returns in the minors’ names. As part of her scheme, Jeune directed the IRS to send the tax refund money associated with the false and fraudulent federal income tax returns to bank accounts she controlled. She then used the money to pay for her personal expenses. As a result of Jeune’s actions, the IRS suffered a loss in excess of $700,000.
The Court sentenced Jeune to 15 years in prison after considering that she: (1) was the leader and organizer of this multi-year tax fraud scheme; (2) defrauded at least more than 10 victims; (3) used sophisticated means by taking a diverse number of steps, including using nominees, to conceal her fraud; (4) produced or trafficked in authorized access devices; (5) abused the trust of the taxpayers who went to her to prepare their taxes; and (6) obstructed or impeded the administration of justice by providing fabricated documents and instructing others to lie during an IRS civil audit.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI in this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roger Cruz and Yisel Valdes.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
