EL DORADO -- Gregory Taylor of Clanton, Ala., pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in an identity-theft and a tax-fraud scheme that reportedly began in January 2009 and continued for three years in El Dorado and Crossett.
Taylor, 51, formerly of Crossett, was one of eight defendants indicted June 24, 2014, by a federal grand jury as part of an investigation into the fraud and theft charges in El Dorado and Crossett, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and Kenny Elser, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas; Tamera Cantu, acting special agent in charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; and Brian Marr, special agent in charge of the Little Rock field office of the U.S. Secret Service.
El Dorado police arrested several people in December 2011 on dozens of criminal counts stemming from a scheme that involved the filing of fraudulent income-tax returns, some for inmates in Arkansas prisons, that totaled more than $524,000.
Taylor's change of plea was accepted by Judge Susan Hickey in U.S. District Court in El Dorado.
Taylor's plea agreement revealed that, beginning in January 2009 through December 2011, he willingly and knowingly conspired with others to defraud the United States by obtaining or aiding to obtain the payment or allowance of false, fictitious and fraudulent claims, in particular the filing of false fraudulent 2008, 2009 and 2010 U.S. Individual Income Tax Forms 1040 by unlawfully using the personally identifiable information of others.
According to the release, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Secret Service and the El Dorado Police Department obtained evidence in 2011 that Taylor and his co-defendants were involved in an identity-theft and tax-refund scheme to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using personally identifiable information -- specifically names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth -- of numerous individuals to claim fraudulent tax refunds from the state and federal government.
Evidence revealed that Taylor, a tax-return preparer in Crossett, worked with and/or assisted other defendants with the filing of fraudulent tax returns to obtain false refunds. Taylor admitted as part of his plea agreement that he and his co-conspirators fraudulently claimed refunds totaling $1,101,478.
Other defendants involved in the case who have pleaded guilty include:
• Venus M. Ford, 34, of Smackover pleaded guilty Aug. 5, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and one count of aggravated identity theft.
• Shawn D. Carey, 35, of El Dorado pleaded guilty June 23, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and one count of aggravated identity theft.
• Whitney M. Charles, 26, of El Dorado pleaded guilty Aug. 6, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and one count of aggravated identity theft.
• Sanjuana N. Aaron, 35, of El Dorado pleaded guilty Aug. 26, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and one count of aggravated identity theft.
• Erica R. Browning, 36, of El Dorado pleaded guilty March 20, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft of public money.
• Ecko Scott, 35, of Little Rock pleaded guilty Aug. 5, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft of public money.
• Clarrise R. Carey, 34, of El Dorado pleaded guilty Aug. 3, 2015, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and one count of theft of public money.
Sentencing will be determined at a later date. In addition to prison time, each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and a mandatory period of supervised release.
State Desk on 01/01/2016