Charlotte Woman Sentenced To 24 Months In Prison For Tax And Mortgage Fraud

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced a Charlotte woman to 24 months in prison for committing tax fraud and mortgage fraud, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Tega Burns, 41, of Charlotte, was also ordered to serve two years under court supervision following her prison term and to pay $201,039.43 in restitution to IRS, $57,450.00 in restitution to Bank of America, and $48,483.00 in restitution to CIT Group Consumer Finance.

U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Jeannine A. Hammett, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID).

Burns, a/k/a Tega Foy, was the owner of Family Homecare Services, a Charlotte-based company that provided in-home care services in the area from 2007 through 2011. According to filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, Burns failed to pay a large part of the employment taxes her company owed for the relevant tax years. Specifically, court records show that during the relevant time period, Burns had an outstanding liability of more than $200,000 relative to the employment taxes. According to statements made during sentencing, Burns utilized nominees, including her son and her step-father, to hide funds from the IRS and to evade payment of the outstanding taxes.

Court records also show that in May 2007, Burns obtained mortgage loans using false information – including fake employment documentation from her company – to purchase two homes in the name of another individual. Both of these homes were eventually foreclosed on, with losses to the banks.

In July 2012, Burns pleaded guilty to one count of failure to account for and pay over employment tax and one count of making a false statement on a loan application.

Burns will be ordered to begin her prison sentence and be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The investigation was conducted by IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Grus Sugar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.