康州女子认罪：空壳公司虚报退税骗取79.9万美元疫情退税，最高面临5年监禁
美国司法部11月6日更新发布康涅狄格区联邦检察官办公室的案件通报：现年63岁、住在康涅狄格州哈姆登（Hamden）的托尼娅·巴勒姆（Tonya Barham）已于11月3日在纽黑文向联邦地区法官萨拉·F·拉塞尔（Sarah F. Russell）放弃起诉程序并认罪，罪名与一宗疫情救济计划欺诈有关。宣布认罪消息的是康涅狄格区联邦检察官戴维·X·沙利文（David X. Sullivan）与国税局刑事调查局新英格兰地区特工主管托马斯·德梅奥（Thomas Demeo）。
根据法庭文件与庭上陈述，巴勒姆经营着 Blacfoot LLC，一家销售保健品、乳液、油品与蜡烛的小企业，但该公司几乎没有收入、也没有雇员。2021年底，与她相识的人联系她，让她在一家在线报税服务企业开设账户，并把账户信息和密码交给了对方。2022年3月至2023年1月间，这些人登录该账户，为 Blacfoot LLC 向国税局提交虚假的雇主季度联邦纳税申报表（941表），虚报雇员人数与工资总额，用来申请大额的员工留任抵免（ERC）与病假和家庭假抵免（SFLC）退税。国税局联系巴勒姆核实公司信息时，她提供了虚假信息，包括声称公司有五名雇员。
2022年7月至11月间，Blacfoot LLC 从国税局收到九张退税支票，总计799,052美元。巴勒姆把其中一部分退税款回扣给了策划该骗局的人。
巴勒姆承认的罪名是就国税局退税提出虚假申报，最高可判处五年监禁。她目前以40,000美元保释金获释，量刑定于2027年1月26日举行。案件由国税局刑事调查局调查，助理联邦检察官克里斯托弗·W·施迈瑟（Christopher W. Schmeisser）负责起诉。
司法部今年4月7日宣布成立国家反欺诈执法司，专门调查和起诉针对美国民众的欺诈行为；本案通报列入该司的新闻更新。
（来源：美国司法部）
Connecticut Woman Pleads Guilty in $799,052 Pandemic Tax Refund Scheme, Faces Up to Five Years
The U.S. Department of Justice on November 6 updated a case announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut: Tonya Barham, 63, of Hamden, Connecticut, on November 3 waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to an offense stemming from a pandemic relief program fraud scheme. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan and Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Barham owned Blacfoot LLC, a small business that sold health products, lotions, oils, and candles, but the company earned little to no income and had no employees. In late 2021, individuals she knew contacted her and instructed her to open an online account with a business that provided online tax preparation services; she then gave them the account information and password. Between March 2022 and January 2023, the individuals accessed the account and prepared and filed fraudulent Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941) for Blacfoot LLC with the IRS, misrepresenting the number of employees and total wages paid, and used them to apply for large employee retention credit (ERC) and sick and family leave credit (SFLC) refunds. When the IRS contacted Barham to verify information about Blacfoot LLC, she provided false information, including that her business had five employees.
Between July and November 2022, Blacfoot LLC received from the IRS nine refund checks totaling $799,052. Barham kicked a portion of the refund money back to the individuals who orchestrated the scheme.
Barham pleaded guilty to making false claims regarding IRS refunds, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. She is released on a $40,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for January 26, 2027. The investigation was conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, focused on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the American people; this case was carried in the division's news update.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的罗伯特·F·肯尼迪司法部大楼。APK 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C. Photo by APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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