Man Sentenced to Jail Term and Ordered to Pay $613,025 in Restitution For Scheme That Fraudulently Generated Tax Refunds

            WASHINGTON - William S. Wilson, 68, of Temple Hills, Md., was sentenced today to six months in jail, to be followed by six months of home detention, for initiating an identity theft and false tax refund scheme that illegally generated more than $600,000 in refunds.

            The sentencing was announced by U.S Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office, and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations John L. Phillips of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

            Wilson pled guilty in October 2016, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims. He was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper. Following his jail term, Wilson will be placed on three years of supervised release, which is to include the period of home detention. Judge Cooper also ordered Wilson to pay $613,025 in restitution to the IRS.

            According to the government’s evidence, from approximately June 2010 through May 2012, Wilson prepared and electronically filed with the IRS federal income tax returns, in the names of various individuals, claiming tax refunds, knowing that these claims were false, fictitious, and fraudulent. Some of the people for whom Wilson prepared returns brought him lists of names and Social Security numbers, including stolen identifying information. Wilson was paid $50 for each fictitious Form W-2 and $100 for each fraudulent individual income tax return that he prepared by the person for whom he prepared it.

            Wilson used bank accounts under his control for the direct deposit of fraudulently obtained tax refunds. He also recruited another individual, Tamika Witherspoon, to permit the use of her bank accounts for the direct deposit of fraudulently obtained tax refunds and to negotiate fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury refund checks. The two split a portion of the proceeds from the deposit of these tax refunds, each receiving approximately $500 to $1,000 per tax refund, with the remaining proceeds going to other co-conspirators.

            Wilson electronically filed approximately 186 individual income tax returns, claiming fraudulent refunds of $613,205. In court documents, the government estimated that Wilson personally received at least $151,050 to $212,050 for his participation in the scheme.

            Witherspoon, 31, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in June 2017 to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims. She is to be sentenced on Sept. 11, 2017.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Lappin, and Assistant Inspector General Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue and the U.S. Marshals Service. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Hooks and Paralegal Specialist Jessica Mundi. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein, who investigated and prosecuted the case.