FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               CONTACT:  DAVILYN WALSTON
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009                                                  PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/txe                         PHONE: (409) 839-2538 CELL: (409) 553-9881

US ATTORNEY GREGORY ENFORCES FEDERAL TAX LAWS

            BEAUMONT, TX –  U.S. Attorney Rebecca A. Gregory announced some highlights of the Eastern District of Texas' work enforcing the nation's tax laws.  

            As the April 15th filing deadline nears, U.S. Attorney Gregory stresses the consequences of not following federal income tax laws.

• In April 2009, Staci Nichol Butler, of Longview, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file a false tax claim.  Butler, a tax preparer in Pittsburg, Texas at the time of the offense, added fraudulent Form Fs to her clients’ tax returns.  Form F is for farm expenses, which are deductible.  Butler faces up to 5 years in federal prison at sentencing.

• In March 2009, Donald Patrick Blair, of Plano, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and making false statements on his tax returns.  Between 2000 and 2007, Blair embezzled over $1.2 million in funds from a church by diverting these funds to his personal expenditures.  In connection with his scheme to defraud, Blair subsequently understated the amounts of his taxable income for tax years 2001 through 2006, thereby cheating the government of an additional $262,663 in taxes.  He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

• In January 2009, Donna J. Nelson, of Sulphur Springs, pleaded guilty to false income tax reporting.  Nelson admitted to understating her 2006 income by $136,100 on her Form 1040 U.S. Income Tax return.  Other court documents also showed that she had similarly under reported earnings for tax years 2003 through 2007, totaling $479,781.36.  This scheme resulted in an overall tax loss to the government of $135,171.24.  Nelson faces up to 3 years in federal prison at sentencing.

• In December 2008, Thomas B. Parker, of Vidor, and his wife, Margaret A. Parker, were convicted by a jury of 7 counts of filing false tax returns and 5 counts of failure to file a tax return.  The Parkers filed amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns for 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 in which they falsely represented they had no taxable income, that they owed no taxes, and sought a refund.  They also failed to file tax returns for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.  Thomas Parker was sentenced in March to 5 years probation with a condition that 356 days be served in jail while his wife was sentenced to 5 years probation and 120 hours of community service.  The couple was also ordered to jointly pay $62,042.00 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury.

• In April 2008, Jimmy Max Wilson, of Euless, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for presenting false claims to the IRS.  Wilson admitted filing false claims to the IRS using identities that he knew were false and claiming refunds he knew he was not entitled to.  Wilson also used false identifications to open bank accounts and apply for loans. Wilson was ordered to pay restitution of $73,554.53.

            Further details about tax enforcement cases are available on the Tax Division’s Web site http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/ , on the IRS’s Web site http://www.irs.gov/ , and on the IRS Criminal Division’s Web site http://www.treas.gov/irs/ci/index.htm.

        The Justice Department encourages anyone who has information about suspected tax fraud to report it to the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov and click on the links “Contact IRS” and “How Do You Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity.”
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