Missouri inmate, his wife plead guilty in tax fraud scheme

wireready_09-25-2018-16-24-02_02124_taxscam

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) _ A married couple has pleaded guilty in a scheme in
which southwest Missouri jail inmates tried to unlawfully land big tax refunds.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 43-year-old Andre Garnett and his wife, 35-year-old Kenya Morris-Garnett, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. The plea agreement says while Garnett was incarcerated in Christian County, he and another inmate conspired to submit false federal tax returns with the idea they would then rake in large tax refunds.

Morris-Garnett was not in jail but participated in the scheme from the outside.

One of the fraudulent tax returns would have resulted in a refund of $18,427,
and another would have resulted in a refund of $250,993. Payment of both refunds
was halted by the IRS.

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