Louisville Resident Sentenced To 48 Months In Prison For A Scheme To Obtain Fraudulent Federal Income Tax Refunds Using Stolen Identities

Ordered to pay $94,159 in restitution

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Acting United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. and Christopher A. Henry, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation announced today that Erica Spencer, 37, of Louisville, Kentucky, was sentenced this week by Senior District Judge Thomas B. Russell to 48 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $94,159 in restitution.

On November 7, 2014, Spencer pled guilty to all counts of a 31-count second superseding indictment filed on October 22, 2014. She was charged with theft of public money, unauthorized use of access devices, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.  The original indictment in this case was filed on December 18, 2013.

From June 2011 through June 2012, Spencer used the identities, including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, of several individuals to file fraudulent federal income tax returns in their names and to receive fraudulent federal income tax refunds. Further, Spencer received the fraudulent federal tax refunds in bank accounts she controlled.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bryan R. Calhoun of the Western District of Kentucky and was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.