A Muncie area tax preparer, Christina Moles, also known as Tina Lashley, has been dealt an 18-month sentence in federal prison for submitting nearly 400 falsified tax returns. Moles, 50, from Redkey, Indiana, followed her prison term pleads guilty to charges including wire fraud and aiding in the filing of a false tax return, the consequence of her actions also includes three years of supervised release and an obligation to pay $567,010 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Indiana reported.
Operating between 2015 and 2021, Moles lured clients with the promise of hefty tax refunds, typically ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, despite these individuals earning modest incomes, court documents illustrate. To illicitly boost refunds, she falsely claimed her clients were eligible for the American Opportunity Tax Credit—a benefit meant for education expenses in the first four years of higher education—that they did not qualify for, falsely asserting her clients had educational expenses from Ivy Tech or Penn Foster online college, despite that the clients did not attend these institutions nor incurred such expenses, and therefore did not receive the necessary Form 1098-T Tuition Statement.
The scheme resulted in clients receiving tax credits they were not entitled to, thus leading to a sizeable loss for the Internal Revenue Service, a fact lamented by Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress, who said, "Filing or preparing false tax returns is a serious offense that deprives the government of vital revenue for public services, and today’s sentence serves as a strong warning to anyone considering engaging in such fraudulent activity," a sentiment obtained from the Justice Department’s website.
Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office, condemned Moles' actions which exploited a tax credit intended to ease the cost of higher education, this fraudulent misuse of the AOTC didn't just cheat the system, but conversely it undermined a benefit that was created to assist families in furthering their educational goals, his views were echoed by Acting Inspector in Charge Sean McStravick who highlighted the significant breach of trust and the financial toll levied on taxpayers due to Moles' scheme, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in their press release.
The investigation was led by the IRS-CI and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), leading to the sentencing by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II; recognition was also noted for Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Eakman, who prosecuted the case for the determination and combined efforts that brought this fraudulent scheme to a close.
