A Springfield, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to her role in a $718,000 tax fraud conspiracy.
Nancy Lorine Walker, 55, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of conspiracy, one count of presenting a false claim, one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft.
By pleading guilty today, Walker admitted that she participated in a conspiracy from January 2010 to April 23, 2013, to submit false federal income tax returns and make false claims for federal income tax refunds for the 2009-2012 tax years.
Walker and other conspirators used the means of identification of individuals, including their names and social security numbers, and Turbo Tax to prepare and electronically file federal income tax returns. Those returns were false and fraudulent in that they included fictitious IRS Form W-2 information, listing employers who did not employ the individual listed on the return and reporting wages not earned and employment taxes not withheld from the individual.
Conspirators fraudulently claimed $718,927 in federal income tax refunds. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Walker must pay $317,498 in restitution, the amount of refund actually received.
Under federal statutes, Walker is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
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