Craig S. Morford
United States Attorney
Darryl Stewart
Assistant U.S. Attorney
(615) 736-5151
NASHVILLE MAN SENTENCED FOR TAX FRAUD SCHEME
Nashville, TN – April 23, 2007 – Craig S. Morford, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, announced that Vernon Tresmont Carter, 41, of Nashville, Tennessee, was sentenced by U. S. District Judge William J. Haynes, Jr. to serve 15 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Judge Haynes also ordered Carter to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service of $8,397.00.
Carter was indicted on January 18, 2006, charged with three counts of filing false claims for federal income tax refunds with the Internal Revenue Service for the years 2000, 2001, and 2002.
After a two day trial held in Nashville in December 2006, Carter was found guilty by a jury on all three counts in the indictment. Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Carter provided false W-2 Forms claiming he had earned income from an employer during each of the above years when, in fact, he had never earned the reported wages. These fraudulent income amounts, along with falsely claimed dependants, allowed Carter to claim the earned income credit each year, thus generating tax refunds that Carter was otherwise not entitled to receive. Additionally, trial testimony revealed that when initially questioned by the IRS about the filed tax returns and his fraudulent claims for income tax refunds, Carter denied that he had signed the tax returns, and stated that he had not filed tax returns with the IRS for years 2000, 2001, and 2002. Forensic fingerprint analysis testimony presented during the trial showed that Carter’s thumbprint was found on one of the refund anticipation loan checks Carter received, endorsed, and cashed as a result of one of false claims for a tax refund.
This investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U. S. Attorney Darryl Stewart represented the government.