3 indicted in federal court face tax evasion, fraud charges

Last update: March 11, 2008 - 1:42 AM

Three people have been indicted in federal court in Minneapolis for allegedly defrauding federal and Minnesota governments of thousands of dollars in separate tax-related cases.

William Franklin Jones, 55, of Park Rapids, Minn., was charged Thursday with one count of tax evasion for preparing and signing a false 2001 tax return for falsely characterizing property transactions to be tax-free, leading to an underpayment of $93,000 in federal income taxes.

Nicole Brown, 27, of Minneapolis, was charged with four counts of false claims for tax refund for filing four false claims totaling move than $17,000 on behalf of friends and family members, resulting in overpayment by the federal government.

Paulina Alice Mohn, 36, address unknown, was charged with 12 counts of false claims against the United States and five counts of aggravated identity theft for allegedly preparing 280 fraudulent federal tax returns for others. She also filed 115 returns through the state, resulting in at least $149,000 in false state claims for refund.

Federal prosecutors say Mohn was able to pull off the scheme by creating fake W-2 forms and filing for taxes electronically. She also used the name and Social Security number of another person to create wire fraud.

Charges were announced Monday following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, along with the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.

The three face up to five years in prison for each count leveled against them. They were arrested and have made an initial appearance before a federal judge.

ABBY SIMONS