A Florida woman has been sentenced to prison for filing false tax returns with the IRS. Yolanda Dewar received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, along with one year of supervised release. She has also been ordered to pay $485,290.03 in restitution to the United States.
Court documents revealed that between 2018 and 2020, Dewar filed four false tax returns seeking nearly $2 million in refunds on behalf of a trust she created. The returns inaccurately reported income, payments to the IRS, and federal taxes withheld for the trust. Despite being informed by the IRS that her claims were baseless, Dewar continued her fraudulent activities. The IRS issued close to $500,000 based on these false claims, which Dewar partially used for personal expenses including purchasing a car for a family member, undergoing plastic surgery, and renovating her home.
The announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Kavitha Bondada from the Justice Department’s Tax Division alongside Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca from the Southern District of Florida.