45-year-old woman formerly of Racine indicted by federal grand jury for filing false tax returns

MILWAUKEE -- A 45-year-old woman, formerly from Racine was indicted by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee Tuesday, January 10th for filing false tax returns.

Tomeki Tyson, who currently lives in Las Vegas, is charged with 21 counts of making a false claim against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by filing false federal income tax returns which claimed refunds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287.

The indictment alleges that during the period from approximately January 2009 until February 2015, the defendant defrauded and stole money from the IRS through filing fraudulent tax returns containing false employment, income, and tax withholding information, which claimed tax refunds in the names of various actual persons. The indictment further charges that the defendant filed more than 250 such false refund claims with the IRS over this period.

Each of the 21 false claim charges contained in the indictment carries a maximum possible penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

“IRS Criminal investigation is committed to rigorously pursuing thieves who steal from American taxpayers,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Shea Jones of the St. Paul Field Office in a statement. “The indictment should serve as a warning to thieves that we, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office, will pursue those criminals and bring them to justice.”