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Press Release

Knoxville Resident Sentenced To Serve 37 Months In Prison For Tax Fraud And Money Laundering

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Mayra Edith Blair, 41, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced on Oct. 12, 2016, by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 37 months in federal prison.  Blair was also ordered to forfeit a money judgment in the amount of $2.5 million to the United States.

In May 2016, Blair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States through the submission of fraudulent federal income tax returns and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Blair’s offenses were part of a scheme that involved the use of phony identification documents for the submission of fraudulent federal income tax returns in order to obtain refundable tax credits.  The scheme resulted in the theft of more than $10.8 million from the U.S. taxpayers.

Agencies involved in this investigation included the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Tennessee Highway Patrol Identity Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Dale, Jr., and Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.                                                         

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Updated October 12, 2016

Topic
Tax