An Arizona woman pleaded guilty to attempting to steal more than $7.7 million in government funds by filing false tax returns with the IRS.
According to court documents, Regina Durkin of New River, Ariz., conspired with others to defraud the United States by submitting false quarterly employment tax returns to the IRS.
“No matter the scheme, the agency, or the program involved, those who cheat on their taxes for personal enrichment undermine the very foundation of public trust,” said Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division is working across all fronts to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal tax violations. We will protect the integrity of our tax system and ensure that those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of honest citizens face the full weight of federal prosecution.”
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said the case reflects the office’s continued focus on pandemic-era relief fraud. “Our work continues as we find and prosecute individuals like Ms. Durkin who took a benefit meant to help the public during a crisis, and used it instead to line their own pockets,” Courchaine said.
Durkin and her co-conspirators sought fraudulent refunds tied to the employee retention credit and the paid sick and family leave credit, programs Congress created to help businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors said the companies named in the claims were not actually operating, had no employees and paid no wages. In total, the group submitted 14 fraudulent claims to the IRS seeking more than $7.7 million in refunds.
Durkin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false claims. She is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 11 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; any sentence will be determined by a federal judge applying the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“Regina Durkin chose to steal $7.7 million from the American public through deliberate fraud — and now faces the full weight of a felony conviction,” said Scott Brown, acting special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office. “IRS-CI will relentlessly pursue anyone who abuses emergency relief programs for personal gain.”
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial attorneys Robert Kemins and Matthew Hoffman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams for the District of Arizona are prosecuting it.
The case is among those being pursued under the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, created in April to investigate and prosecute fraud against federal benefit programs as part of a broader White House task force on fraud, waste and abuse chaired by Vice President JD Vance.
By: Montana Newsroom wire