United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the return by a grand jury of a fifty-seven-count indictment charging Rashia Wilson (27, Wimauma) and Maurice Larry (26, Tampa) with conspiracy and multiple counts of wire fraud, filing false tax returns, theft of government property, and aggravated identity theft. Wilson is charged with one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud, 19 counts of filing false tax returns, 14 counts of theft of government property and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft.
Larry is charged with one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud, 17 counts of filing false tax returns, 13 counts of theft of government property and 13 counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy count; 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count; 5 years in federal prison on each count of filing a false tax return; 10 years in federal prison on each charge of theft of government property, all to be followed by two years in prison for each aggravated identity theft count.
The indictment also notifies both individuals that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of $1,176,787.00, the traceable proceeds of the tax fraud scheme.
According to the indictment, Wilson, who promoted herself as the “First Lady” of tax fraud, and Larry engaged in a scheme and conspiracy to commit fraud on the United States by filing false U.S. income tax returns using the names and identity information of other individuals, without those individuals’ knowledge. Wilson and Larry then fraudulently obtained and used the resulting tax refunds on various personal expenditures, including a 2013 Audi A8L worth more than $90,000.00.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Tampa Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.
This is another case prosecuted as part of Operation Rainmaker, a coordinated law enforcement effort to combat the filing of false tax returns in the Tampa Bay region. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and various federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office are working together as part of this operation.
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Tags: Income Tax
