Lynnfield Woman Charged with Filing False Tax Returns

BOSTON – A Lynnfield woman was arrested today and charged with filing false tax returns, in which she claimed more than a $370,000 mortgage interest deduction, even though she had defaulted on the loan and the property had gone into foreclosure.

Karyn M. Ingram, 50, was charged in an indictment with three counts of filing false tax returns for tax years 2011, 2012 and 2013. Ingram had an initial appearance today in federal court in Boston.

According to the indictment, Ingram filed tax returns in which she reported false and inflated Schedule A deductions and in one year, a Schedule C business loss, in order to reduce her overall tax liability.  For example, for tax years 2010 and 2011, Ingram filed returns claiming mortgage interest deductions of $45,072 and $371,427, but she had not made any mortgage payments since 2008, the loan had defaulted, and the property had gone into foreclosure.  She also claimed real estate tax deductions in those same tax years, when, in reality, the real estate taxes had been paid by the mortgage lender and not by Ingram.  The indictment alleges that by falsifying the deductions and losses, Ingram fraudulently reduced her tax liability by more than $126,000.

The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.