Las Vegas, Nevada - A federal jury in Las Vegas, Nevada convicted a Las Vegas man of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson of the District of Nevada.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Terry Williamson conspired with others to file false and fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service using the names and social security numbers of deceased taxpayers. To further the scheme, Williamson opened and managed a bank account to receive the fraudulent tax refunds.  In total, more than 480 fraudulent tax refund checks totaling more than $2 million were deposited into Williamson’s account.  Williamson withdrew substantial amounts of money from that bank account and also transferred large portions of the proceeds to his personal account and to the accounts of co-conspirators.  Williamson spent his cut of the money on personal expenses including over $60,000 on a fully-loaded pick-up truck.

Sentencing is scheduled for a later date. Williamson faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Elieson commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys John Mulcahy and Sarah Kiewlicz of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.