LAURA A. DIGGS, age 41, a resident of Paulina, Louisiana, was charged today in a two-count bill of information with one count of false statements on tax returns and one count of assisting in the preparation of false tax documents, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to court documents, from approximately 2003 through the present, the defendant, DIGGS, was engaged in the business of preparing and filing income tax returns at her business, Diggs Tax Service, which was located in Luling, Louisiana. The Bill of Information alleges that, from 2007 through 2009, DIGGS prepared and filed false income tax returns for her customers, which contained false Schedule A deductions, resulted in inflated refunds for her customers to which they were not entitled.

Additionally, according to the Bill of Information, in the years 2007, 2008, and 2009, DIGGS signed her own taxes that falsely under-reported the business income she had received. In total, DIGGS failed to report approximately $766,761 in gross income, to which there is a total tax liability of $210,233.

If she is convicted on either count, DIGGS faces a maximum penalty of three (3) years imprisonment, up to one (1) year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment, as to each count.

U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that a Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being investigated by agents from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Matt Chester.

(Download Bill of Information )

 

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