BALTIMORE WOMAN CONVICTED OF FELONY THEFT OF TAX REFUNDS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. and State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer announced today that Lachelle Taneka Lee, age 29, was convicted after trial by Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Philip T. Caroom of six counts of felony theft of money from the State of Maryland Office of the Comptroller. Lachelle Lee’s sentencing is scheduled for May 23, 2005. The crime of felony theft carries a potential maximum sentence of imprisonment up to 15 years or a fine not exceeding $25,000, or both.

Lachelle Lee was part of a theft scheme with a friend to file fraudulent State tax returns in order to get the tax refunds that issued as a result of the false returns. The State proved that, in six incidents, Lachelle Lee knowingly received stolen tax State refunds into her bank accounts. Each stolen refund was over $500. At the time of the theft scheme, Lee resided at 2700 Strathmore Avenue, in Baltimore City.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigations Division, with assistance from the Maryland Office of the Comptroller and Maryland State Police.

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