PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Prosecutors say a former Portland woman pleaded guilty to stealing identities to get more than $400,000 in federal income tax refunds from phony tax returns.
The returns, more than 50 of them, were filed in a two-week burst in January 2012.
Latisha Simmons was accused of obtaining names and Social Security numbers, including that of one dead person, to file the returns, which claimed fictitious wages and inflated withholding amounts.
The U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday the refunds ranged up to $8,400 and were deposited on debit cards that were sent to her.
She pleaded guilty to wire fraud, making false claims against the government and identity theft. She agreed to make restitution. Sentencing is set Aug. 27.
She was arrested in January in Phoenix, Arizona, where she now lives.
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