Canadian Woman Pleads Guilty to Tax Scheme

   ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. and Department of Justice Tax Division Acting Assistant Attorney General Tamara Ashford announced today that Renee Jarvis, 51, of Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., to conspiring with others to defraud the United States and to steal government funds. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller and Tax Division Trial Attorney Jeffrey A. McLellan, who are handling the case, stated that the defendant was charged, along with six others, with filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. On April 8, 2009, Jarvis filed a U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return and claimed that she was entitled to a refund of $404,120.00. Thereafter, the defendant, a Canadian citizen, opened a bank account at a bank in the Rochester area, deposited a U.S. Treasury check and then withdrew the funds, in part, to pay a co-conspirator for preparing the false documents.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle Kitchen.