Week In Review –south Bend

              South Bend, Indiana — The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

PLEAS

• Brandon Heuer, 28, of Michigan City, Indiana pled guilty to the felony offense of conspiring to distribute heroin. The magistrate is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea.  Parties have 14 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration.  Sentencing has been set for June 11, 2015.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

DISPOSITIONS

• Adrian Williams, 42, of La Porte Indiana was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment with 2 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of manufacturing marijuana.  According to documents filed in this case, on September 21, 2013, law enforcement came to a building Williams owned in La Porte County.  Officers found a marijuana grow in the building owned by Williams.   This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

• Ronnie Seward, 26, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment with 4 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of knowingly or intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance cocaine base (crack).  According to documents filed in this case, on April 10, 2014, Seward possessed a package containing a white rocklike substance that he believed was cocaine base (crack).  He possessed the item in a residence in South Bend, Indiana, which is in the Northern District of Indiana.  It was his intent to sell the substance.  This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

• Marie Henderson, 36, of Bristol, Indiana  was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment with 1 years supervised release and restitution of $99,786.64 after pleading guilty to the felony offense of willfully aiding, assisting and advising in the preparation and presentation to the Internal Revenue Service, of U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040 which were false as to a material matter.  According to documents filed in this case, on From 2009 through 2012, Henderson was the sole owner and employee of Four Seasons Finance, a tax return preparation business which she operated out of her home in Bristol, Indiana.   She was a tax return preparer and clients paid for her services to prepare and file electronically their tax returns.    Henderson learned how to prepare tax returns, having learned the process while working at H & R Block from 2004-2008.    The 1040 Returns she prepared for many of her clients contained materially false information in the form of Schedule C deductions.   These Schedule C deductions consisted of false business income, business mileage, and/or false car and truck expenses.  These expenses were not supported by any documentation nor was the information provided to her by the client.  Henderson purposely prepared the Schedule C deductions so that her clients would receive larger tax refunds than what they legitimately deserved. In particular, she prepared tax returns for FBR and his wife WER in 2009, 2010 and 2011.   The couples' sources of income consisted of pension retirement benefits, military disability payments, social security disability payments and investment interest. Specifically, she prepared for the tax year 2010, Form 1040 Tax Return for her clients FBR and WER.   These clients provided her with documentation associated with the sources of income stated above.    Henderson prepared the Form 1040 and included Schedule C, which listed a false mileage claim of 100,000 miles and car and truck expenses of $50,000.  Both FBR and WER were retired and neither owned a business, partnership or joint venture in which business expenses could be legitimately claimed. By supplying   this false information, the 2010 Tax return showed a business loss of $50,000 which generated an incorrect adjusted gross income tax figure and with their deductions, garnered them a refund of $4,955.    She purposely electronically filed this return with the false information she added to the return.    She does not dispute the IRS records deemed this return filed on March 7, 2011.   Henderson agreed the return contained truthful information related to business expenses, the 2010 Form 1040 should not have reflected a refund due of $4,955. This case was the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Brook.