Vallejo Woman Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Conspiracy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Porsha D. Dickens, 44, of Vallejo, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to submit false claims for tax refunds to the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, from March 2011 through March 2013, Dickens and her co-defendant Dionna Bradshaw participated in a conspiracy to submit false tax returns to the IRS by obtaining personal identifying information of others, and then submitting returns seeking refunds to which the people listed on the returns were not entitled. To pursue the refunds, false statements were placed on the tax returns regarding employers, income, withholding from income, and eligibility for certain tax credits, among other things. The employers listed on most of the fraudulent returns were companies purportedly belonging to Dickens. The fraudulently obtained tax refunds were frequently directly deposited into the bank accounts of Dickens and Bradshaw. The total amount of refunds claimed in connection with the conspiracy was over $300,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hales is prosecuting the case.

Dickens is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on October 23, 2018. Bradshaw previously pleaded guilty and also awaits sentencing. Dickens faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.