Houston Woman Heads to Prison for Fraud
In a shocking case of financial deception, a 44-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of theft of government money, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Sheiletta McGrew pleaded guilty on September 17, 2018.
Today, U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore ordered McGrew to serve a total 24-month sentence to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $144,943.
McGrew owned a tax preparation business called BABY STEPS 4 ME which she operated from her Houston residence. At the time of her plea, McGrew admitted she unlawfully acquired the personal identifying information (PII) of numerous individuals to include names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information.
She then used the unlawfully acquired PII to file at least 82 fraudulent returns during this scheme and received fraudulent refunds in the amount of $257,765.
McGrew submitted the fraudulent returns without the consent of the taxpayers listed on the returns and requested the refunds be directly deposited into bank accounts she controlled.
McGrew was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The investigation was conducted by the IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI) and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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