Beachwood Woman Sentenced For Tax Return Fraud

BEACHWOOD, OH — A Beachwood woman will spend more than 17 years in prison for stealing identities and filing false tax returns, the Department of Justice announced. Aesha Johnson was convicted by a jury earlier this year on 29 charges. Her daughter pleaded guilty to aiding the fraud.

“This pair stole people’s identities then used it to steal from taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “The community is safer with Ms. Johnson behind bars.”

Johnson and her daughter, Brittany Williams, worked together to steal identities and then use those identities to file false tax returns with the IRS. The mother-daughter pair were seeking tax returns from the agency, according to court documents.

Johnson got the identities from a previous fraud scheme, the indictment against her said.

Johnson and Williams used an address on E. 142nd Street as the address of record for the tax returns. The mother and daughter would then communicate with one another using a code, referring to their victims by numbers (victim 1 through victim 31), court documents said. They used email addresses made in the victims' names to communicate with the IRS.

Williams would then file the tax returns online, getting prepaid debit cards in the names of the identity-theft victims and then asking the IRS to deposit the refunds onto those cards, court documents said. Williams would then withdraw the cash or make purchases using the cards, the indictment noted.

Johnson and Williams were investigated by the IRS.

Johnson's 29 count indictment included accusations of conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. After she was found guilty, a judge ordered her to pay $63,000 in restitution. Johnson's daughter, Williams, also pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy. She was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $63,000 in restitution.

“This sentence is a small victory for the many American taxpayers who have been victims of stolen identity refund fraud schemes,” said Bryant Jackson of the IRS. “The defendants demonstrated a blatant disregard for the integrity of the United States tax system and caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims. IRS-CI will continue to do our part in protecting the sanctity and integrity of the tax system and those individuals whose identities were stolen."