Miramar Resident Convicted For Filing A False Tax Return

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce the conviction of defendant Erica Jacovia Bryant, 33, of Miramar, after a two day jury trial on charges of filing a false claim, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287.

At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 11, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. in front of U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale.

According to the indictment and evidence introduced in court, Bryant filed a false 2011 tax return that fraudulently sought a $110,859.00 tax refund. Based upon this fraudulent return and the information contained therein, Bryant obtained a $100,653.22 tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service, which was later utilized to purchase a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. The 2013 Lincoln MKZ was subsequently seized by the IRS for forfeiture.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service-CI Division. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.