Paducah Woman Convicted at Trial on Nine Federal Charges for False Claims and Wire Fraud

Paducah, KY – A Paducah woman was found guilty of nine federal charges for false claims and wire fraud on Friday.

U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office made the announcement.

Natasha Harris-Johnson, 52, of Paducah, filed eight tax returns for the 2018 and 2019 tax years on behalf of trusts she created, altogether demanding nearly $30 million in tax refunds she was not entitled to. Harris-Johnson also filed a fraudulent application with the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in Harris-Johnson receiving approximately $160,000 in SBA funds she was not entitled to. Harris-Johnson used the EIDL funds for personal expenses and has not paid back any portion of the loan. 

On Friday January 16, 2026, Harris-Johnson was found guilty of all nine counts she was charged with at the conclusion of a week-long jury trial in Paducah, Kentucky. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Kyle Bumgarner stated, “Our office along with our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue fraud against the federal government. I am particularly proud of the strong advocacy on behalf of the United States by Assistant United States Attorneys Corinne Keel and Josh Judd.” 

“The criminal who perpetrated this scheme systematically defrauded the government and the taxpaying public,” said Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office. “At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take very seriously and keep at the forefront of our mission every day. IRS-CI will continue to actively pursue those who steal from the hardworking taxpayers of the United States by preparing false claims for refunds to which they are not entitled.”

This case was investigated by the Bowling Green Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, which is a branch of the Detroit Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corinne E. Keel and Joshua Judd prosecuted the case with the assistance of paralegal Cristy Crockett.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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