Tennessee criminal defense attorneys will rarely have clients as outspoken as self-proclaimed “queen” of tax refund fraud Rashia Wilson. Wilson was sentenced earlier this week to 21 years in federal prison for tax fraud, aggravated identity theft, and weapons charges.
Wilson, a 27-year-old resident of Tampa, Florida, admitted to stealing in excess of $3 million by using stolen social security numbers to file fraudulent tax returns. Wilson is suspected of taking nearly $20 million in total due to the tax refund scheme in which she was engaged. Wilson used the money on a variety of items, including throwing a $30,000 birthday party for her 1-year-old.
Prior to her arrest, Wilson taunted the Government by posting items to her Facebook account, including these gems:
Wilson’s predictions about the difficulty in indicting her and about not serving time ended up being as spot on as her spelling. Wilson was singing a different tune at her sentencing hearing and asked the judge to “please don’t take me away from my children by sending me to prison for a long time.” “That would be something you should have considered…that you didn’t want to be taken away from your children,” the judge replied.
SOURCES
“Tax fraud ‘queen’ sentenced to 21 years” – The Tampa Bay Tribune
“Rashia Wilson, The ‘Queen of IRS Tax Fraud’ Gets 21 Years Behind Bars” – OpposingViews.com