Cleveland Woman Indicted on Tax Charges

A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment charging Nakesha M. Taylor, age 35, of Cleveland,  with making false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims with the Internal Revenue Service, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Taylor publicly offered her services as a tax preparer using the name “Kesha Tax Service.” In January and February 2010, she carried out a scheme to enrich herself by obtaining portions of fraudulently inflated tax refunds from tax returns Taylor prepared and filed from her home on behalf of individual taxpayers.

The indictment charges that Taylor inflated the refunds without the taxpayers’ knowledge, resulting in false claims totaling approximately $101,405.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Collyer, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.