Modesto Man Sentenced In Tax Fraud Conspiracy

FRESNO, Calif. — Heath Lee Roberson, 39, of Modesto, was sentenced today to two years and nine months in prison by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii, for conspiring to submit false claims to the IRS, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Roberson was also ordered to pay over $66,322 in restitution to the IRS.

According to court documents, from December 2010 to May 2011, Roberson and a co-defendant obtained personal identifying information from more than 40 individuals, used the information to generate false tax returns and submitted them to the IRS. Any tax refunds that they received were deposited into accounts the defendants controlled.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Tierney prosecuted the case.