A Nixa man was sentenced in federal court for attempting to defraud the government by claiming tax refunds for himself and helping others to claim tax refunds to which they were not entitled, according to a news release from Beth Phillips, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Jason Powell, 32, was sentenced Dec. 21 to 17 months in federal prison without parole and three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $71,622 in restitution.
Powell pleaded guilty Sept. 14 to creating false W-2 forms for himself and others using employer names of two fake companies, listing wages that were never earned and listing federal income taxes that were never actually withheld or paid. The forms were structured in such a way to receive large refunds.
Co-conspirator Max Snodgrass, 32, of Springfield, was sentenced in June for his role in the scheme to four years and seven months in federal prison without parole.
Several other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to filing false W-2 forms, which were created by Powell or Snodgrass using their computers.
The guilty pleas:
- Jeremy Michael Whitcher, 29, of Springfield, pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to filing a false W-2, from which he received a $8,156 refund and a $600 economic stimulus check from the U.S. Treasury.
- Michael Hammond, 39, of Springfield, pleaded guilty on Dec. 9 to filing a false W-2, from which he received a $10,983 refund.
- Michael Herrod, 42, of Bolivar, pleaded guilty on Dec. 9 to filing a false W-2, from which he received a $9,126 refund and a $600 economic stimulus check.
- Talor Lafferty, 29, of Springfield, pleaded guilty Dec. 10 to filing a false W-2, from Lafferty received a $5,699 refund and a $900 economic stimulus check.
- Stephanie Kay Gann, 32, of Nixa, Powell's ex-wife, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to filing a false W-2, from which she received a $3,373 refund and a $600 economic stimulus check.
- Christopher Muirhead, 38, of Springfield, pleaded guilty on Dec. 21 to filing a false W-2, from which Muirhead received a $9,126 and a $600 economic stimulus check.
- William Paul Crocker, 48, of Nixa, pleaded guilty Dec. 22 to filing a false W-2, from which he received a $1,690 refund and a $600 economic stimulus check.
All of these cases involved filing false 2007 tax returns.
Sentencing dates for the remaining defendants will be set following pre-sentence investigations by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
"Tax fraud and economic stimulus fraud are big drains on already-strained federal resources,” Phillips said in the release. “I applaud the efforts of the IRS Criminal Investigation division to vigorously prosecute those who defraud the tax system and programs designed to resuscitate the economy.”[[In-content Ad]]
