LAWFUEL – Tax Law News – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, United States Department of Justice; Brian J. Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; William T. Sims, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service; and Broward County Sheriff Kenneth C. Jenne, announced today that Samantha Johnson and Scott Warren Johnson (husband and wife) of Parkland, Florida, was sentenced today for following their pleas of guilty related to a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scheme.
Samantha Johnson had previously pled guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false income tax return before United States District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra. According to the indictment, and admitted by the defendants at the time they pled guilty, Samantha Johnson and others orchestrated a scheme whereby they created and used false and fraudulent deeds and other documents to obtain title to residential properties in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. They then used the properties as collateral for bank loans, personal lines of credit, and the like, obtaining in excess of $2.5 million in ill gotten gains. On occasion, the defendants would then profit by selling the properties to unsuspecting buyers. Additionally, the defendants failed to report their illegally derived proceeds to the Internal Revenue Service.
Samantha Johnson was sentenced to 60 months’ incarceration. Scott Johnson, who pled guilty to filing a false income tax return with the IRS, was sentenced one year incarceration. The Johnsons also forfeited $500,000 in cash to the United States and were ordered to pay all income taxes due and owing.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Secret Service, and the Broward County Sheriff’’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas P. Lanigan.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls . Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/ .
