Rhode Island Jewelry Store Owner Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return

WASHINGTON - Karen St. Pierre of Barrington, R.I., pleaded guilty before Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in the District of Rhode Island to one count of willfully filing a false individual tax return, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

­According to court documents, St. Pierre owned and operated the House of Windsor, a jewelry store in Newport, R.I. In 2004, the House of Windsor generated approximately $632,522 in gross receipts. On April 15, 2005, St. Pierre filed a false individual income tax return that reported, in part, that the gross receipts generated by the store were only $281,780. As a result of this material false statement, St. Pierre failed to pay approximately $64,595 in taxes.

St. Pierre faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The court set sentencing for Jan. 6, 2012.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated this case and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Tiwana L. Wright and Andrew P. Young are prosecuting the case.

More information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/tax .