(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
 
 

Lafayette, Louisiana . . . DAWN NICOLE CARRIER, age 33, from New Iberia, Louisiana, pled guilty this week before United States District Judge Richard T. Haik to income tax fraud, announced United States Attorney Donald W. Washington.  CARRIER was indicted on the  federal charge in April 2005.
 
According to the court record, CARRIER prepared and filed tax returns for twenty-two (22) individuals for the 2001 tax year. As a result of CARRIER’s scheme, the government suffered a total estimated loss of $165,763.  The returns prepared by CARRIER contained fictitious or overstated itemized deductions Schedule A’s and wages and withholdings.   One return prepared by CARRIER showed wages in the amount of $34,585 and federal withholdings in the amount of $6,325.  The person for whom the return was prepared actually made only $14,585 in wages in 2001 and paid $99 in federal withholdings.   CARRIER also attached a Schedule A showing a total itemized deduction for $58,617 which included medical expenses of $5,560, gifts to charity for $3,500, and un-reimbursed job training expenses for $18,285 which were false.  The false information submitted by CARRIER on one particular return resulted in a loss to the Government in the amount of $7,737.
 
U.S. Attorney Washington stated, “Owners and employees of tax preparation services who falsify tax returns will ultimately be prosecuted as common criminals.  These criminals deserve long prison sentences for the harm they cause to honest, law-abiding taxpayers."
 
Sentencing will be scheduled for a later date to be determined by the court. CARRIER faces an imprisonment term of not more than three (3) years, a fine of up to $100,000.00,and a term of supervised release of not more than one (1) year following confinement.
 
Sentencing in federal court is determined by the discretion of federal judges and the governing statute.  United States Sentencing Guidelines established by the United States Congress and the United States Sentencing Commission are only used as guidelines by the judge in determining the appropriate sentence.   Parole has been abolished in the federal system.
 
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley.
 
For further information, please contact United States Attorney Donald W. Washington at 337-262-6618 or First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Flanagan at 318-676-3600.
 
This and other press releases issued by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana can be found at our website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/law.

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