Eric Judkins, 46, of Manchester, New Hampshire, is headed to prison for 12 months and one day after admitting to a brazen scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service from behind bars. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann in Williamsport, includes three years of supervised release and an order to pay $11,031.37 in restitution to the IRS.
Judkins pulled the strings of the scam while incarcerated at U.S.P. Allenwood, a federal prison in Pennsylvania. From his cell, he orchestrated a widespread tax fraud operation with accomplices on the outside, targeting the IRS with 80 falsified Form 1040EZ returns. Each claim was rigged with phony income and withholding data, all designed to scam the government out of refunds he never earned.
The total haul the conspiracy aimed to steal? $108,000. While investigators confirmed only a fraction of that amount was paid out before the fraud was flagged, the damage was enough to trigger a full-scale probe by the Internal Revenue Service. Authorities say the scheme unraveled due to inconsistencies in the filings, which triggered automated audits and forensic tracing back to the prison.
According to U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, Judkins wasn’t just a participant — he was a key operator in the conspiracy. Using contraband phones and coordinated messaging, he directed others to file the fake returns, leveraging stolen identities and fabricated W-2s to make the claims appear legitimate. The fraud stretched across multiple tax years, slipping through cracks until forensic auditors zeroed in on the pattern.
The investigation was led by IRS Criminal Investigation, which has intensified efforts to track tax fraud originating from correctional facilities. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case, emphasizing that prison walls don’t shield offenders from accountability. “Criminal enterprise doesn’t pause at the prison gate,” MacArthur said in a statement.
Judkins now begins his 12-month sentence with no early release perks — the extra day ensures eligibility for federal programming while underscoring the seriousness of the crime. The case stands as a stark warning: even from a cell, fraud has consequences.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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