St. Louis Woman Indicted for Tax Scheme
A brazen tax scheme has been uncovered in St. Louis, Illinois, where a woman has been indicted for her role in filing false tax returns to claim inflated refundable tax credits. Ebonyi Blakely, 28, of St. Ann, Missouri, was charged in a lengthy indictment for her involvement in the scheme.
According to the indictment, Blakely conspired with and assisted a dishonest tax preparer who filed false tax returns to claim inflated refundable tax credits for low-income tax filers. The scheme was described as an ongoing federal income tax refund scheme where Blakely recruited individuals to have their returns prepared by the dishonest tax preparer.
The indictment also alleges that Blakely had her own federal income tax return prepared by the dishonest tax preparer who prepared fraudulent income tax returns for individual tax filers in order to generate “refundable tax credits,” such as the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit, which were refunded to the filer. The false information contained in the income tax returns prevented the IRS from making an accurate ascertainment, computation, and assessment of tax liabilities.
The investigation is being conducted by agents from the Internal Revenue Service / Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith. An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
Conspiracy is punishable by not more than 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and not more than 3 years of supervised release. The indictment highlights the importance of vigilance in the face of tax scams and the need for the community to report suspicious activity to the authorities.
The indictment against Ebonyi Blakely serves as a reminder that tax evasion and fraud will not be tolerated. The Grimy Times will continue to monitor the case and bring you updates as more information becomes available.
Related Federal Cases
- Ebonyi Blakely, Tax Scheme, Illinois 2015 · Illinois
- Ebonyi Blakely, Tax Scheme, Illinois 2015 · Illinois
- Ebonyi Blakely, Tax Scheme, Illinois 2015 · Illinois
- Ebonyi Blakely, Tax Scheme, Illinois 2015 · Illinois
- Ebonyi Blakely, Tax Scheme, Illinois 2015 · Illinois
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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