Kathleen A. Sharp Press Release (Sentencing)

September 10, 2004
For Immediate Release

ST. LOUIS AREA WOMAN IS SENTENCED FOR MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS ON INCOME TAX RETURNS

St. Louis, Missouri: A St. Louis area woman has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for under-reporting her income on income tax returns, United States Attorney James G. Martin and Al Patton, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, announced today.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Jensen handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

KATHLEEN A. SHARP, 53, of the 9100 block of Coral Drive, St. Louis, 63123, was sentenced to on year and one day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. On June 16, 2004, Sharp pled guilty to one felony count of making false statements on income tax returns. She appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Jean C. Hamilton.

According to the facts filed with the court at the time of the plea, Sharp worked for MAK Printing, Glendale, Missouri, from September 1997 until April 2003. Among other things, Sharp was responsible for MAK Printing's bookkeeping and maintained custody of MAK Printing's checkbook. Beginning in August 1998 and continuing until March 2003, Sharp forged the MAK owner's signature on MAK Printing's checks. Sharp admitted that she made these checks payable to herself and deposited them into her personal checking account. The total amount Ms. Sharp took from MAK Printing in this manner was $385,735. She admitted that she used most of this money to gamble at Harrah's Casino.

Additionally, Sharp failed to include $277,245.65 of this $385,735.23 taken from MAK Printing in her adjusted gross income for the tax years 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002, resulting in unpaid taxes of $76,942.

“Ms. Sharp is just one of a number of individuals our office is prosecuting for stealing to support her gambling habit,” United States Attorney James G. Martin said.

“The prosecution of individuals who seek to profit by fraudulently filing with the IRS provides a deterrent effect to potential violators of tax laws and sends a message to the honest taxpaying citizens that IRS is focused on combating tax fraud,” said Al Patton, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI JAMES G. MARTIN United States Attorney	NEWS RELEASE
For further information: Call Public Affairs Officer Jan Diltz at (314) 539-7719
September 10, 2004 For Immediate Release ST. LOUIS AREA WOMAN IS SENTENCED FOR MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS ON INCOME TAX RETURNS St. Louis, Missouri: A St. Louis area woman has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for under-reporting her income on income tax returns, United States Attorney James G. Martin and Al Patton, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, announced today. This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Jensen handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. KATHLEEN A. SHARP, 53, of the 9100 block of Coral Drive, St. Louis, 63123, was sentenced to on year and one day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. On June 16, 2004, Sharp pled guilty to one felony count of making false statements on income tax returns. She appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Jean C. Hamilton. According to the facts filed with the court at the time of the plea, Sharp worked for MAK Printing, Glendale, Missouri, from September 1997 until April 2003. Among other things, Sharp was responsible for MAK Printing's bookkeeping and maintained custody of MAK Printing's checkbook. Beginning in August 1998 and continuing until March 2003, Sharp forged the MAK owner's signature on MAK Printing's checks. Sharp admitted that she made these checks payable to herself and deposited them into her personal checking account. The total amount Ms. Sharp took from MAK Printing in this manner was $385,735. She admitted that she used most of this money to gamble at Harrah's Casino. Additionally, Sharp failed to include $277,245.65 of this $385,735.23 taken from MAK Printing in her adjusted gross income for the tax years 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002, resulting in unpaid taxes of $76,942. “Ms. Sharp is just one of a number of individuals our office is prosecuting for stealing to support her gambling habit,” United States Attorney James G. Martin said. “The prosecution of individuals who seek to profit by fraudulently filing with the IRS provides a deterrent effect to potential violators of tax laws and sends a message to the honest taxpaying citizens that IRS is focused on combating tax fraud,” said Al Patton, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation.