Canistota Woman Convicted of Tax Fraud

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that Veronica Fairchild, age 42, of Canistota, South Dakota, and Okoboji, Iowa, who was found guilty of four counts of tax fraud as a result of a federal jury trial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, lost her appeal of the conviction. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of the District Court.

Fairchild was sentenced to 33 months in custody and ordered to pay over $214,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, for unpaid taxes. 

Fairchild was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 9, 2013. The investigation stemmed from Fairchild’s late filing of her 2005 through 2008 income tax returns in 2010.  Bank records revealed she had failed to claim over $850,000 in income over the four-year period of time. Fairchild claimed the unreported income she received from performing private shows as an exotic dancer was a gift.  

A jury trial commenced on June 24, 2014, and completed on June 26, 2014, with the jury convicting Fairchild on all four counts of the Indictment. 

On appeal, Fairchild challenged the evidence supporting her conviction, the jury instructions regarding the source of income, and the length of her sentence. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and held that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding that Fairchild knowingly and willfully underreported her income as an exotic dancer.  The Court also held that the jury instructions were proper and that the length of her sentence was reasonable. 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.