Washington, D.C. - United States Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, Jr. and Vicki S. Duane, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced that Mark T. Purvis, age 47, of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of a ten-count indictment charging him with filing false claims seeking to fraudulently obtain federal tax refunds over a several year period. Purvis is facing a possible maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine when sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on January 23, 2003.

Evidence established that Purvis had engaged in a systematic scheme to defraud the United States Treasury Department, for the tax years 1992 through 1997, by filing 26 false claims for federal income tax refunds totaling $92,345 that were not in fact owed to him. Nine of the 26 refunds totaling $25,938 were actually paid out. The defendant used a variety of false information to obtain the refunds. In a number of instances he misrepresented his own earnings and withholdings; other times he used other persons' names and/or social security numbers to falsely file for refunds which he sought to have mailed to his own addresses. None of the individuals whose names or social security numbers were used in the scheme were aware of the defendant's filings. The defendant was able to obtain the social security numbers or additional personal information of others through misuse of information he came into possession of at his places of employment, at his residences, or through stolen mail matter.

In announcing the guilty plea, United States Attorney Howard and Special Agent in Charge Duane praised the work of Special Agent Michael O'Hanlon of the Internal Revenue Service who investigated the case. They also commended Legal Assistants Teesha Tobias and Derrieal Davis who provided litigation support services on the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. Burke, Jr., who indicted the case and Assistant United States Attorney Peggy Ellen of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, who prosecuted it.