Son follows mother to prison for computer tax-credit fraud

The mother and son who pitched free computers, Internet access and an online study guide to low-income Minnesota families now have both been sentenced to federal prison.

William J. Morris Jr., whom a jury convicted in February of mail and wire fraud, was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison for his role in a scheme that promised a computer and Internet access to customers in exchange for a $1,000 Minnesota tax credit for educational expenses.

Morris and his mother, Carolyn Louper-Morris, ran CyberStudy, a company that filed tax returns for its customers and directed the tax credit payments to itself. At the time, Minnesota law provided a tax credit for supplemental educational expenses of $1,000 per child and as much as $2,000 per family. But the law required families to buy the services before claiming the credit.

Officials said Morris and his mother didn't deliver on their promises but used the computers to lure customers so they could obtain their tax credit.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim also ordered Morris to pay nearly $3.6 million in restitution to the state Department of Revenue and to K-Mart, which was not paid for many of the computers.

In September Louper-Morris was sentenced to 12 years in prison for her role in the fraud. She has appealed her conviction.

JAMES WALSH