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Kentucky Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Crimes
Brian Hamilton, a Kentucky man, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Hamilton conspired with others, including his brother, Billy Ray Hamilton, Patsy Carnes and Diana Hill, to file false tax returns from the Bailey Switch Pawn Shop in Knox County, Kentucky. The group prepared and electronically filed at least 31 tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that contained false and fraudulent information regarding wages, self-employment income, expenses, filing statuses and dependents.
Hamilton’s plea agreement revealed that in some cases, he filed false tax returns without the knowledge or permission of the taxpayers named on the returns. To aid in the preparing and filing of false tax returns, Hill obtained personal identifying information, and Carnes was responsible for keeping files of that information and providing it to Hamilton.
Brian Hamilton faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge. He also faces a mandatory two-year prison term for the aggravated identity theft charge, which will be in addition to any other term of imprisonment he receives. Hamilton is also facing financial penalties, supervised release and restitution.
This is not the first time that those involved in the scheme have pleaded guilty. In January, Carnes and Hill each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims. Billy Ray Hamilton, Brian’s brother, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his role in the scheme. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 2.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj Gupta of the Eastern District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Abigail Burger Chingos of the Tax Division. Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey commended the efforts of those involved in the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on their website. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of tax compliance and the consequences of engaging in tax fraud.
Key Facts
- State: Kentucky
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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