Canistota Woman Sentenced For Tax Fraud

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Veronica Fairchild, age 42, of Canistota, South Dakota, and Okaboji, Iowa, who was previously found guilty of four counts of tax fraud, was sentenced on October 22, 2014.

Fairchild was sentenced to 33 months in custody and ordered to pay over $214,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, for unpaid taxes. 

Fairchild was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 9, 2013. The investigation stemmed from Fairchild’s late filing of her 2005 through 2008 income tax returns in 2010.  Bank records revealed she had failed to claim over $850,000 in income over the four-year period of time.  Fairchild claimed the unreported income she received from performing private shows as an exotic dancer was a gift.

A jury trial commenced in Sioux Falls on June 24, 2014, and completed on June 26, 2014, with the jury convicting Fairchild on all four counts of the Indictment.
         
“The sentenced handed down in this case should make things very clear.  No matter your rationale and no matter what you do for a living, if you evade paying your fair share of taxes, you’ll face the consequences,” said U. S. Attorney Johnson.
         
“IRS Criminal Investigation is diligent when it comes to enforcing the laws directed at those who attempt to defraud our nation’s tax system," said Karl Stiften, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the St. Paul Field Office. “The sentence of 33 months in a federal prison shows how seriously the courts take federal tax crimes. Together with the Department of Justice, we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who violate our tax system.”
         
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
         
Fairchild will self-report to the U.S. Marshals Service in November of 2014 to begin serving her sentence.