Related Federal Cases
Tax Preparer Jailed for $6M Scheme
BEAUMONT, Texas – A 40-year-old Dallas tax preparer has been sentenced to prison for federal tax violations and failure to appear for his trial on that charge in early 2015 in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Shannon Tecoko Mays was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield to 180 months in federal prison, of which 162 months was for the tax scheme and an additional or consecutive 18 months for the failure to appear felony. Mays was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,121,202 to the Internal Revenue Service.
The scheme, carried out by Mays’ Syam Tax Services, L.L.C. and Baby Momma Tax, resulted in approximately 4,226 tax returns being filed claiming around $6 million in refunds. The scheme targeted individuals on disability or receiving only Social Security income, as they are generally exempt from having to file income tax returns.
Mays employed ‘recruiters’ who brought in clients, paying them $50-100 for each successful referral. The recruiters told clients they were receiving an economic ‘stimulus’ payment from the government. To avoid detection, Mays altered the taxpayers’ addresses and phone numbers on the returns, and used electronic deposits to ensure paper checks would not be mailed.
Two recruiters, Diana Broussard McCoy and Myra Jones, pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and were sentenced to federal probation. A successful injunction suit brought by the Texas Attorney General’s Office recovered approximately $1,282,000 from Syam Tax Service bank accounts, which was returned to the U.S. Treasury.
“The defendant who perpetrated this scheme systematically defrauded the government and the taxpaying public,” said Tamera Cantu, IRS Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office. “At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take very seriously.”
The case was investigated by the IRS and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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