An Athens, Georgia tax preparer has been sentenced to eight years behind bars following her confession to filing fraudulent tax returns that were part of a wider COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefit scheme, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. Jessica Crawford, 34, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and in addition to her prison sentence, will face five years of supervised release after her incarceration, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
The court documents reveal that Crawford, who operated Crawford Tax Services in Athens, was involved in a scheme that filed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits for individuals who had falsified business activities or given false information to unlawfully obtain benefits while in her role as a tax preparer she earned a cut from these fraudulent earnings, the DOJ detailed. A statistical review by the Internal Revenue Service of over 1,200 tax returns filed by Crawford found that the loss to the IRS exceeded $3 million, with false claims stretching across sick leave and family leave credits, dependent care credits, and others.
"Federal law enforcement uncovered a large-scale tax return scheme during the pandemic that was costing taxpayers while benefiting fraudsters," Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker stated. Jessica Crawford misused the CARES Act relief program, designed to support those out of work due to the pandemic, and further defrauded the government by filing false tax returns on behalf of her clients, added Lisa Fontanette, Atlanta Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge. Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, Paul Brown, also emphasized the dedication of law enforcement to root out and prosecute those exploiting taxpayer funds.
Interestingly, FBI agents stumbled upon the scam during a multi-state benefit fraud investigation, uncovering texts linking Crawford to participants in the fraudulent activities, as per the DOJ's announcement. One eyebrow-raising moment came when IRS-Criminal Investigation agents conducted an undercover operation where without providing Crawford any income or expense numbers, she went ahead to fabricate a Schedule C business and filed for substantial tax credits leading to a nearly $12,359 fraudulent federal income tax refund for the undercover agent and all these actions added up, setting the stage for her sentencing on May 8.
The joint operation, which led to Crawford’s downfall, was spearheaded by the FBI and the IRS-Criminal Investigations team, with the case prosecution being handled by Criminal Chief Leah E. McEwen for the Government.
