Danielle Wallace, Tax Fraud, Georgia 2015

Columbus Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing Over 180 Fraudulent Tax Returns

Danielle Wallace, 36, of Columbus, Georgia, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and filing false income tax returns before the Honorable Clay D. Land, U.S. District Court Judge, in Columbus, Georgia on May 5, 2015.

As part of her plea agreement, Ms. Wallace admitted to filing over 180 fraudulent tax returns between January 1, 2014 and March 24, 2014. During this time, she was employed by Blue Cross/Blue Shield fielding telephone calls from customers. She would obtain personal information from the customers during the calls and then file false income tax returns through “Simple Cash 1”, a tax preparation business she owned and operated in Columbus.

The attempted and actual loss, the amount of funds which was obtained by fraud, is approximately $494,000.

“Ms. Wallace took advantage of those who trusted her and came to her for help. She took advantage of her employer as well using the information she obtained in her job to do this. She then took advantage of the public by using this information to get income tax refunds to which she was not entitled,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.

“Instead of providing customer service Ms. Wallace used her position with Blue Cross Blue Shield to steal the identities of unsuspecting individuals and file fraudulent tax returns through a company she owned,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent In Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot. “Ms. Wallace’s actions have caused insurmountable hardship to these innocent victims. Today’s plea is an example of the hard work IRS CI and its law enforcement partners continue to perform in an effort to protect the American taxpayer.”

The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Secret Service and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Melvin E. Hyde, Jr. and Chuck Byrd are prosecuting the case for the Government.

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