| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | For Information, Contact Public Affairs |
| Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933 |
| District
man pleads guilty to filing false federal tax returns and claiming over $55,000 in fraudulent refunds |
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Washington, D.C. - United States Attorney Kenneth
L. Wainstein and Gregory Szczeszek, Special Agent in Charge, Internal
Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced that William L.
Powers, 70, of the 5900 block of 8th Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.,
pleaded guilty today in United States District Court one count of
Filing a False Claim. Powers faces a statutory maximum prison sentence
of five years, a fine of up to $250,000 and a restitution order. Under
the federal sentencing guidelines, Powers faces a likely sentence
of six to twelve months of imprisonment. The defendant is scheduled
to be sentenced by the Honorable John D. Bates, United States District
Judge, on August 19, 2004. According to the government's evidence, beginning in January 2001 and continuing through February 2003, Powers submitted six fraudulent tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") in his name and in the name of his then seven-year-old granddaughter. Each return claimed a refund based on false W-2 information and sought direct deposit into bank accounts controlled by Powers. The tax returns filed by Powers claimed income that neither Powers nor his granddaughter ever received from a defunct North Carolina company. Agents of the IRS were able to trace some of the tax returns through the Internet address used by Powers to file the returns. In total, Powers sought $55,121 in fraudulent refunds. He received more than $46,000 in fraudulent refunds as part of his scheme. In announcing the guilty plea, United States Attorney Wainstein and Special Agent in Charge Szczeszek praised the outstanding investigative efforts of Special Agent Greg Ford of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigative Division. They also commended the work of Legal Assistant Teesha Tobias who assisted in the preparation of the case and Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Monaco who prosecuted the case. |
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