Two Former Delaware Residents Charged in $270,000+ Tax Fraud Scheme

WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that an Indictment has been handed down by the Grand Jury, charging Tanisha Gregory, age 34, and Nduka White, age 32, formerly of Newark, Delaware, with False Claims Conspiracy, Mail Fraud, and Social Security Fraud.  Both defendants face up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, in addition to possible fines and restitution. 

The Indictment alleges that, from February 2012 through June 2015, Gregory and White conspired with one another to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns using other people’s identities.  It is alleged that the defendants obtained unauthorized access to the names and social security numbers of at least 50  people, in Delaware and elsewhere. The defendants used this identification information to file false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), claiming more than $270,000 in refunds for the 2011 through 2014 tax years.  According to the Indictment, the defendants attempted to conceal their receipt of the refunds, by transferring the proceeds through bank accounts and prepaid debit card accounts in other people’s names.  The defendants are alleged to have received more than $130,000 from the IRS on account of the false returns.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Paxton.  The charges in the Indictment are only allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.