Maria Colvard, Impersonating IRS Agent, Pennsylvania 2015

Impersonating IRS Agent Lands Chambersburg Woman in Hot Water

A Chambersburg woman has found herself on the wrong side of the law after pleading guilty to impersonating an IRS agent and interfering with commerce by threats. Maria Colvard, 49, entered her plea before United States Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on January 6, 2015.

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Colvard convinced an employee at Tax Max LLC, a tax preparation service owned by Colvard, to claim to be a criminal investigator with the Internal Revenue Service to get money and a client list from a rival tax preparation business and to ultimately shut down the rival business. This scheme occurred between February and May 2013.

Colvard was indicted in June 2013, arrested and released pending trial. A superseding indictment was filed in November 2013. While trial was pending, Colvard allegedly offered her employee $50,000 if she would take sole responsibility for the crimes without cooperating with law enforcement or involving Colvard. On January 6, 2014, Colvard attempted to get her co-defendant not to testify against Colvard.

Part of the conditions of Colvard’s pre-trial release required Colvard not to have any contact, direct or indirect, with her co-defendant. The second superseding indictment was filed on January 15, 2014, additionally charging Colvard with two counts of witness tampering. Colvard was re-arrested and has been detained since January 16, 2014.

Judge Conner tentatively scheduled sentencing for April 14, 2015. This case is being investigated by the United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.

Colvard faces a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine for her crimes. The statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant, as the Judge must consider various factors, including the nature of the offense, the defendant’s history and characteristics, and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs.

Indictments and criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/chambersburg-woman-pleads-guilty-scheme-impersonate-irs-agent-and-interference-commerce