Palmetto woman sentenced to prison for using false tax service to steal refund checks

A Palmetto woman has been sentenced to prison for operating a false tax service to steal more than $300,000 worth of tax refund checks.

Acting US. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announced Tuesday that Latronda Brooks has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison. Brooks pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft charges June 30.

Prosecutors said Brooks, 45, opened an account at Urban Trust Bank in her name and did business as Magnificent Tax Services, which she used to deposit more than $300,000 in fraudulent tax refund checks.

According to court documents, the checks were falsely endorsed with taxpayer signatures and deposited into her account via a falsely endorsed permission form.

Brooks used the money for personal expenditures and to pay others who were involved in the fraud scheme. She didn’t provide any funds to the taxpayers, prosecutors said.

In addition to prison time, Brooks has been ordered to pay $327,521 in restitution. The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation unit and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Palmetto woman sentenced to prison for using false tax service to steal refund checks."