Alton Woman Sentenced To Prison For False Tax Returns

Aisha Wright, 33, of Alton, Illinois, was sentenced to serve forty-six months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, as a result of her convictions for two counts of making false claims against the United States, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.

Wright operated A W Mobile Taxes, in Alton, Illinois. Potential fraud was detected by the Scheme Development Center of the I.R.S. Two undercover agents went to Wright to have their tax returns prepared and Aisha Wright prepared fraudulent returns for both of the undercover agents. Further investigation revealed that Wright was systematically preparing false returns for taxpayers that falsified Schedule A deductions, Schedule C self-employment income, and falsified education expenses for receipt of the education tax credit. The court determined that over a three year period Wright filed 492 federal income tax returns that caused a total actual loss to the United States in excess of $1,000,000. Wright was ordered, as part of her sentence, to pay restitution in the amount of $1,052,302.86. She was also ordered to serve 450 hours of community service as a condition of supervised release, following her release from prison.

The successful prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.