Macon woman admits to orchestrating $3.5 million tax fraud, faces up to 13 years in prison
A Macon woman pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of tax fraud involving more than $331,000 in false refunds and a scheme totaling more than $3.5 million, according to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A Macon woman pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of tax fraud involving more than $331,000 in false refunds and a scheme totaling more than $3.5 million, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell. Sentencing is scheduled for January 4, 2024.
43-year-old Lonnise Janelle Andrews, who is not eligible for parole, faces up to 13 years in prison and a maximum fine of $600,000. She has also agreed to pay $331,758 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Those engaged in tax refund schemes and fraud are breaking federal law and will be held accountable for these crimes,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said.
Court documents revealed Andrews falsified IRS forms for herself, her father and a fake business, listing incomes, losses and withholdings she knew to be untrue. She used a tax preparation website to generate false Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-R, leading the IRS to issue her a $165,245 refund check, which she cashed.
The fraud also involved fake business filings for an entity named Andrews Harris Corbin (AHC). Andrews claimed AHC had 957 employees and requested a tax credit of $3,086,325. The IRS processed one of AHC’s false refund requests, sending a check for $25,978.83 to a UPS mailbox in Macon. Surveillance footage confirmed her father picked up the check on December 8, 2020. That check was later found in her bedroom.
“IRS Criminal special agents will continue investigating, on behalf of honest taxpayers, those who engage in breaking tax laws,” Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Atlanta Field Office Demetrius Hardeman said.
The case was investigated by the IRS, according to the news release. It’s being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Howard and Amy Helmick.
