May 6, 2005
For More Information Contact:
Alan Sprowls at (850)
942-8430
TWO SENTENCED FOR TAX REFUND SCHEME
PANAMA CITY -- Gregory R. Miller, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Jonnie Nix, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, Tampa Field Office, and J. Russell George of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced that two individuals were recently sentenced based upon their involvement in a fraudulent tax refund scheme.
On April 6, 2005 Jesse Smith, of Bonifay, Florida was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by filing false income tax returns claiming refunds of taxes previously paid. Smith agreed to plead guilty to the conspiracy charge on November 9, 2004.
On May 4, 2005 Madeline Stuckey was sentenced following conviction at trial to conspiring to defraud the United States by using her position as an employee of the Internal Revenue Service. Evidence at trial indicated that Stuckey sent an internal memo which was intended to cause one refund to be released and that she improperly disclosed taxpayer information. Ms. Stuckey was ordered to serve 5 months imprisonment, 5 months of home confinement as part of three year’s supervised release and ordered to pay $3,015.00 in restitution.
The scheme involved numerous false income tax returns filed by state prison inmates which fraudulently represented that they were entitled to refunds. The total amount of monies fraudulently sought was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Mr. Miller complimented the investigative efforts of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and their Inspector General’s office and the work of former Assistant United States Attorney George Abney, who handled this prosecution.