CONSPIRATORS INDICTED FOR FILING FRAUDULENT TAX RETURNS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. and State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer jointly announced today the indictments of Nicole J. Martin, 28, Sabrina A. Martin, 30, Lachelle T. Lee, 28, and Eugenia Barbara Williams, 36, for conspiracy, theft and identity fraud. The charges, which were filed by the Anne Arundel County Grand Jury on August 20, 2004, allege that the defendants filed 13 fraudulent Maryland state income tax returns for the 2002 tax year in the names of other people. Nicole Martin is alleged to have filed an additional single fraudulent Maryland state income tax return for the 2001 tax year in her own name. A total of $13,592 in refunds is alleged to have been stolen by the conspirators.

The case was referred to the Office of the Attorney General by the Comptroller’s Office. It was investigated by the Maryland State Police and is being prosecuted by the Criminal Investigations Division of the Office of the Attorney General.

Although an indictment is just an allegation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the maximum penalty for felony theft and conspiracy to commit felony theft is 15 years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine; for misdemeanor theft and conspiracy to commit misdemeanor theft, it is 18 months imprisonment and a $500 fine; the maximum penalty for conspiracy to willfully provide false information is 18 months and a $5000 fine, while felony identity fraud carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.

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