Claudia Dorsey, Tax Fraud, Missouri 2015

A Springfield woman has pleaded guilty to her role in a large-scale tax fraud scheme that claimed nearly $340,000 in refunds from the IRS.

Claudia Dorsey, 33, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims.

Dorsey is the 11th defendant to plead guilty to her role in the scheme, which was led by co-defendant Cherie Christine Dupuis, 43, of Springfield. Dupuis pleaded guilty on July 21, 2015, to leading the fraudulent tax return preparation conspiracy.

According to court documents, Dupuis and her co-conspirators defrauded the government by filing false claims for income tax refunds from February 2009 to March 2012. In the false and fraudulent federal income tax returns they prepared and filed, conspirators claimed refunds from the IRS totaling approximately $340,630, of which approximately $336,839 was false.

The total actual tax loss to the IRS was $284,169. Dupuis admitted that she filed fraudulent federal income tax returns in her own name and for at least 19 other individuals. She would usually split the fraudulent refunds with her co-conspirators.

Dorsey assisted Dupuis in the conspiracy by permitting Dupuis to use her laptop computer and to list her address on tax returns. Dorsey also filed false tax returns in her own name during those years in which she falsely listed wages that had not been earned and federal income tax withholdings that had not been withheld.

As a result, Dorsey fraudulently received a total of $27,791 in fraudulent income tax refunds. Dorsey also prepared and filed a false federal income tax return for another person who claimed a false refund of $10,237 for the 2011 tax year.

Under federal statutes, Dorsey is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.

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