March 10, 2003

Memphis Woman Pleads Guilty in Tax Fraud Case

Memphis, TN - Terrell L. Harris, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and Sherree W. Preston, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation for the Nashville Field Office, announced that Linda Greer a/k/a Linda Shelton, of Memphis pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Bernice B. Donald. Greer and Loretta Young a/k/a Loretta Smith were named in a 20-count indictment filed on October 30, 2002. Greer will be sentenced on June 10, 2003. Greer pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false claims and five counts of filing false claims against the government. Greer faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than $250,000 on the conspiracy charge and up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of the five false claim charges.

According to the indictment, Greer and Young devised a scheme to obtain payment of false claims for refunds from the Internal Revenue Service by filing and causing others to file false 1997 federal income tax returns claiming refunds they were not entitled to receive. From January 18, 1998 until about May 25, 1998, Greer and Young obtained names, social security numbers and dependant information from various individuals to be used to file false income tax returns. The indictment states that they also prepared false IRS Forms 8453 containing false and fictitious amounts of wagers and withholdings and forged the signatures of various individuals on these forms. The 19 false claims listed in the indictment totaled $69,004.

Greer admitted in court to filing 5 false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for various individuals. According to statements made during the plea hearing, Greer received information from approximately 30 individuals and provided this information to Young to have the returns prepared and filed through Anders & Associates. The false returns utilized fictitious W-2 wages and false Schedule C businesses. Eight refund checks were deposited into bank accounts under Greer's control. Greer also endorsed several of the refund checks. One of the counts to which Greer pled guilty pertained to a tax return for an individual who was deceased and claimed a refund of $1,193. This investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. IRS reminds all taxpayers that they are responsible for the accuracy of their own returns. "To make the best choice, taxpayers should be as careful in choosing their preparer as they would in choosing a doctor or a lawyer," stated Preston. Anyone who suspects tax fraud or knows of an abusive return preparer should call the IRS Tax Fraud Hotline at 1-800-829-0433. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivian Donelson prosecuted the case for the government.

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