Milwaukee, WI – In a shocking case of tax evasion, Paula Forbes, a 49-year-old resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for her involvement in a false tax return scheme.
According to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Gregory J. Haanstad, Forbes was sentenced on June 9, 2017, to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, Forbes was ordered to pay $143,016 in restitution for her crimes.
The crime, which began in January 2012, involved Forbes conspiring with others to file false income tax returns that claimed refund payments from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Forbes and her coconspirators gathered individuals’ social security numbers and other personal information, and then prepared federal income tax returns that fraudulently claimed wages and federal tax-withholding amounts from several employers, including Wisconsin Mortgage & Real Estate Resources and Midwest Accounting Tax Services.
Forbes submitted the returns electronically to the IRS, signing the returns for individuals, many of whom she had never met. Forbes filed at least 35 fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $200,000 in tax refund payments. Forbes and her coconspirators shared in the proceeds of the fraudulently obtained tax refunds.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Jacobs and Matthew Krueger prosecuted the case.
Forbes was convicted at a jury trial on February 3, 2017. The exact charges against Forbes include conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false tax refund claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 286, and also of filing false tax refund claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287.
Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig can be reached at 414-297-1700 for additional information.
Key Facts
- State: Wisconsin
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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