Odell Folks, Conspiracy to File False Claims for Tax Refunds, New York 2009

A brazen tax refund scam has come to an end with the guilty pleas of Odell Folks, a Brooklyn resident, and Tanya Smith, a Waterbury, Connecticut resident.

The pair, along with co-defendants Keith Terry and Sharon Smith, were indicted in November 2008 for a scheme to file false claims for refund with the IRS using names of clients of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO).

Folks also pleaded guilty to mail fraud and making a false tax return.

According to the indictment and information in the plea agreements, between May 2003 and February 2005, Folks and Sharon Smith obtained names and information of HRA and CEO clients and used that information to seek refunds by filing false tax returns with the IRS.

The IRS issued income tax refunds in the form of U.S. Treasury checks and mailed the refunds to false addresses. Folks and his co-conspirators obtained and cashed the refund checks. Tanya Smith and Keith Terry used their bank accounts to cash some of the Treasury checks.

Folks and Sharon Smith were employed as job counselors at CEO. HRA offers a wide range of social service programs to individuals receiving public assistance. CEO provides comprehensive employment services for persons with criminal records, including temporary jobs for individuals recently released from prison.

Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York scheduled sentencing for June 5, 2009. Folks faces a maximum sentence of 33 years in prison and a maximum fine of $750,000. Tanya Smith faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Terry is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2009. He faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/two-plead-guilty-conspiracy-file-false-claims-tax-refunds