Illinois Woman Sentenced to Prison for Filing Tax Returns Using Stolen IDs

A former resident of Poplar Grove, Illinois was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for filing tax returns using stolen identities, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, from 2012 through 2014, Shameka Carr, 30, used stolen IDs to file tax returns seeking fraudulent tax refunds with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Carr directed the IRS to send the refunds in the form of prepaid debit cards and refund checks mailed to addresses that she controlled in Rockford, Illinios and its surrounding areas. Carr admitted to an intended tax loss of $1,026,284.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, Carr was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $365,764 in restitution to the IRS. Carr pleaded guilty on January 24 to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Michael C. Boteler and John T. Mulcahy of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.