Alton Women Sentenced For Their Roles In Fraudulent Tax Scheme

Angenita M. Smith, 39, of Alton, IL, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and Tammy M. Smith, 37, of Alton, IL, was sentenced to 26 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today. The sentencings occurred in federal district court.

A. Smith and T. Smith were indicted along with six other individuals in July, 2012. They were charged with participating in a Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct and Defeat the Lawful Functions of the IRS in the Ascertainment, Computation, Assessment, and Collection of Federal Income Taxes; Filing a False Federal Income Tax Return and Making False Statements to the IRS Criminal Investigation agents. Each was ordered to pay restitution totaling $54,317.95. Tammy Smith was immediately taken into custody to begin serving her sentence.

The convictions stem from the Smiths’ conduct for falsely preparing and providing Forms W-2 to friends and relatives for the purpose of enabling them to file false federal income tax returns and receive false federal tax refunds. The W-2's were falsified in representing that certain individuals were employees of Masters Touch Cleaning Services, Inc., a Missouri corporation as well as the W-2's also falsely represented wages paid, falsely represented federal income taxes withheld, falsely represented Social Security taxes withheld, and falsely represented Medicare taxes withheld. When questioned, both Smiths lied to federal investigators, resulting in an increase in their prison sentences.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations, and was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman R. Smith.

If you are aware of criminal tax fraud, you are urged to call the I.R.S. Criminal Investigations at (618) 622-2160 or to send the information to the Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA 93888.