An Atlanta, Ga.-based tax preparer has been sentenced to 150 months in prison for filing fraudulent returns that claimed more than $20 million in refunds. Singleton and her employees claimed non-existence dependents and bogus Schedule C business to hike refunds. They also acquired personal identification information from individuals who were informed they could qualify for an Obama Stimulus payment. These IDs were utilized by others to file returns without the owner's knowledge.
The defendant and her allies also attempted to steal $421,000 in loans and lines of credit from USAA via use of the stolen ID information.
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Singleton, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, must pay $5.1 million in restitution, including slightly less than $5 million to the Internal Revenue Service, along with $105,597 to the USAA.