Tampa Woman Indicted On Tax Fraud Charges

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the arrest and unsealing of an indictment charging Samika Garcia with five counts each of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with income tax fraud. If convicted on the wire fraud counts, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count, with an additional two-year consecutive sentence for each aggravated identity theft charge.

Garcia was indicted on July 6, 2017, made her initial appearance in federal court yesterday, and was released on bond.

According to the indictment, Garcia electronically filed false and unauthorized tax returns in the names of others claiming fraudulent tax refunds that were deposited on debit cards in those person’s names. In doing so, she unlawfully used those individuals’ personally identifying information (PII), which she tracked using detailed ledgers.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.