Tennessee Woman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Claim

A Nashville, Tennessee, resident pleaded guilty to filing a false claim with the U.S. government, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney David Rivera of the Middle District of Tennessee. 

According to court documents and statements at the plea hearing, Karen Liane Miller, 60, admitted that from in or about August 2008 until in or about July 2009, she knowingly prepared and submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) multiple false federal income tax returns on behalf of her friends, family and herself.  The returns reported false amounts of taxable income on attached Forms 1099-OID (Original Issue Discount) and Forms 1099-A that Miller created and fraudulently represented to have been issued by financial institutions.  The returns also reported identical or near-identical false amounts of federal income tax withheld from the fictitious income to generate claims for tax refunds that were significantly higher than what the taxpayers were entitled to receive.  Miller filed 48 fraudulent tax returns that falsely claimed more than $19.8 million in refunds.  The IRS issued $1,003,238 in refunds for eight of the 48 fraudulent returns.

The sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 8, 2016.  Pursuant to the plea agreement, Miller faces a potential statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, restitution in the amount of $1,003,328 to the IRS and a fine.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Rivera commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Alexander R. Effendi and Nathan P. Brooks of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Daughtrey, who are prosecuting the case.