A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, has indicted Crystal Whitaker, a former paralegal, on charges of wire fraud, tax evasion, and aggravated identity theft. The indictment was returned on March 4, 2025. U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett from the Western District of Kentucky announced the charges along with U.S. Postal Inspector Lesley Allison and IRS Special Agent Karen Wingerd.
The indictment details that Whitaker allegedly committed these offenses between March 30, 2020, and March 3, 2025. During her employment as a paralegal at law firm SLG under attorney J.R.S., Whitaker reportedly added herself to the firm's bank accounts by hiding J.R.S.'s death and subsequently withdrew funds for personal use. Additionally, she is accused of filing a false tax return for 2020 and not filing returns for 2021 and 2022.
Whitaker appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Louisville on March 6, 2025. If found guilty, she faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years up to a maximum of 177 years in prison. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on guidelines and statutory factors.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Ansari is leading the prosecution.
An indictment is an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
