| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | For Information, Contact Public Affairs |
| Thursday, February 19, 2004 | Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933 |
| Guilty plea to tax scam of claiming illegal tax credit for African-Americans in reparation for slavery | |
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Washington, D.C. - United States Attorney Roscoe
C. Howard, Jr. and Special Agent in Charge Gregory R. Szczeszek, IRS
- Criminal Investigation Division, Baltimore Field Office, announced
that Rebecca J. Forsyth, 57, of 16th Street, N.E., in the District
of Columbia, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge John D.
Bates to one felony count of assisting in false statements to the
Internal Revenue Service. As a result of her plea, Forsyth could be
sentenced to three years of imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 11, 2004. During today's proceedings, Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Ann Snow and Thomas E. Zeno informed the court that in the 1970s, Rebecca Jenkins Forsyth worked for two tax seasons of ten-weeks each as a tax preparer for H & R Block. Since then, she has prepared income tax returns for some of her acquaintances and received some payments for her work on an irregular basis. For tax years 1999 and 2000, Forsyth prepared and filed Forms 1040, United States Individual Income Tax Returns, claiming an illegal tax credit for African-Americans in reparation for slavery. Forsyth filed for the aforementioned credit on her own income tax return as well as on the income tax returns she prepared for others who resided in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. Forsyth filed for the illegal tax credit using Form 2439, Notice to Shareholder of Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gains. This form is used legitimately by a regulated investment company or real estate investment trust to report taxes withheld by the company and paid over to the IRS. Forsyth completed the Form 2439 by listing the alleged regulated investment company as "Black Investment Taxes, Dept. of Treasury, Washington, D.C." or "Black Tax Refund, Dept. of Treasury, Washington, D.C." Forsyth claimed the tax credit in the amount of $43,209 for individual taxpayers and in the amount of $86,418 for married taxpayers filing joint tax returns. The names, address and social security numbers of the respective taxpayers were also indicated on the same form. The Forms 1040 were mailed with the corresponding Forms 2439 to the IRS. For some of the tax returns that she prepared, Forsyth signed the tax returns for the taxpayers and mailed the income tax returns directly to the IRS. Forsyth, however, did not sign the tax returns as the return preparer and specified that the tax returns were self-prepared. Through Forsyth's influence and assistance, eleven fraudulent federal income tax returns with total false claims of $561,717 were filed. The IRS disbursed $233,435 in fraudulent refunds. Forsyth was informed by some of those for whom she filed tax returns that the IRS had rejected their claims for the slavery reparation credit. Forsyth filed for the slavery reparation credit knowing there was no law or IRS regulation allowing for the credit. Because the disbursements were made to actual taxpayers, the IRS is attempting to recover the erroneous payments. In announcing the guilty plea, United States Attorney Howard and Special Agent in Charge Szczeszek commended the investigative work of IRS Special Agent Mary Ann Veloso. They also commended Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Ann Snow and Thomas E. Zeno who prosecuted the case. |
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