Tampa Woman Sentenced To More Than Ten Years For SIRF Offenses

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Tiffani Pye Williams to ten years and three months in federal prison for theft of government property and aggravated identity theft stemming from her participation in a tax fraud scheme.  She was also ordered to pay $1,533,283 in restitution to the United States Treasury.  Williams pleaded guilty on April 23, 2015.

According to court documents, from 2010 to 2014, Williams, using various aliases, participated in a scheme to defraud the IRS.  As part of the scheme, she and others possessed, transferred, and used the means of identification of others, without their knowledge, to file fraudulent federal income tax returns.  The fraudulently obtained tax refunds were wired from the IRS to reloadable debit cards. Williams and others then used these debit cards at various ATMs and retail stores.

Investigators determined that Williams, together with others, filed more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns using the stolen identities of approximately 991 individuals, many of whom were deceased at the time of filing.  In filing these false returns, she and others claimed more than $5.3 million in refunds, and received approximately $1.5 million.

Williams’ alleged co-conspirator, Bobby Muhammad, was charged separately with conspiracy, theft of government property, and identity theft. His trial is scheduled in November 2015.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.