Lufkin Woman Guilty of Tax Fraud

BEAUMONT – An Angelina County woman has been sentenced to federal prison for tax violations. Sheila Phillips, 52, of Lufkin, pleaded guilty on May 30 to making a false statement to the Internal Revenue Service. In federal court in Beaumont yesterday, she was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. Phillips was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $124,217.00 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Federal prosecutors say Phillips operated a tax preparation and electronic business initially doing business as Sheila’s Tax Return and later as Ashley’s Tax Service. During that time, she prepared a tax return falsely stating that a specific individual was the head of household and that this same individual had a foster child qualifying this individual for a larger deduction. This individual did not have any children or foster children that would have qualified for this deduction. In all, Phillips made false statements in 29 individual tax returns resulting in over payments.