Redford Township Woman Sentenced in $200K IRS Tax Fraud

Redford Township, MI — A Redford Township woman was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States in filing for income tax refunds, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said Friday.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.

Authorities accused Latheresa Jefferson, 41, of conspiring with a tax return preparer in Detroit to prepare and electronically file more than 30 fraudulent 2009 federal income tax returns with the IRS.

NEWSLETTER & REAL-TIME NEWS ALERTS: Get the Top Michigan Headlines from Patch Editor Beth Dalbey

The W-2 form submitted with each tax return stated that the taxpayer was employed at a business and had substantial income tax withholdings when, in fact, the businesses in question were defunct.

Along with the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O’Meara ordered Jefferson to pay $166,978 in restitution and serve a three-year term of supervised released following her release from prison.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hiyama.