A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted a Nevada man of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, the U.S. Justice Department announced this week.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Terry Williamson conspired with others to file false and fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service using the names and Social Security numbers of deceased taxpayers, the Justice Department said.
To further the scheme, Williamson opened and managed a bank account to receive the fraudulent tax refunds. In total, more than 480 fraudulent tax refund checks totaling more than $2 million were deposited into Williamson’s account, the department said.
Williamson withdrew substantial amounts of money from that bank account and also transferred large portions of the proceeds to his personal account and to the accounts of co-conspirators, the department said. Williamson spent his cut of the money on personal expenses including over $60,000 on a fully-loaded pick-up truck, the department said.
Sentencing is scheduled for a later date. Williamson of Las Vegas faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Elieson commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and trial attorneys John Mulcahy and Sarah Kiewlicz of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.