03/11/2011

News / Alabama Man Indicted in Tax Fraud & Identity Theft Conspiracy

WASHINGTON - Eric Bernard Caldwell was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on charges of conspiracy and theft of government funds, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The indictment was returned on Feb. 16, 2011, and unsealed today.



Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false claims and also charged with one count of theft of government funds. According to the indictment, Caldwell was part of a conspiracy that filed false tax returns using stolen identities. Caldwell provided identifying information to co-conspirator Ora Mae Adamson , who filed the returns, in exchange for a share of the illicit proceeds generated by the false tax returns.



Adamson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and identity theft charges on Dec. 2, 2010, and was sentenced to 46 months in prison on March 10, 2011. Another co-conspirator, Jeffery Leon Ceaser, has also pleaded guilty and was sentenced, on March 2, 2011, to 36 months in prison.



An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Caldwell faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.



IRS – Criminal Investigation agents investigated this case, and Tax Division trial attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler are prosecuting the case.



Additional information about the Justice Department’s recent efforts to stop fraudulent claims for the first-time homebuyer tax credit is available here . Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/March/11-tax-319.html

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