GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — An Okemos woman and her family who defrauded the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $3.6 million are heading to federal prison.
Callista Suzena Chiwocha was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the government by filing false tax returns. She was also ordered to pay $3,627,401.16 in restitution to the IRS, according to a Friday news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chiwocha, her husband Tapera Albert Chiwocha Sr. and their company — Human Services Associates, LCC — pleaded guilty in March 2017. Tapera passed away in July 2017 before sentencing, the release said.
US ATTORNEY: SCAM PREYED ON ‘POOREST AND MOST VULNERABLE’
Authorities say over 10 months in 2011, Callista and her husband filed 3,228 false tax returns on the behalf of overs. In total, the two requested over $4.5 million in federal tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury.
The couple and those who worked at Human Services Associates, LCC tricked people into giving their personal information after being promised “free stimulus money,” the release said. Authorities say the couple’s company was created to conceal their scam.
During a 2011 search warrant at the couple’s home and business, investigators seized twenty bank accounts traced to the scheme, cash and four vehicle they had purchased with tax refund money. Authorities were able to recover over $1.5 million, the release said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the scam preyed on “the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of the district.”
Investigators discovered just before starting the scam, the Chiwochas were delinquent on their home mortgage payments and had been visiting casinos. Callista previously worked in the banking and tax return preparation industries, which Chief U.S. District Judge Jonker said helped her facilitate the scheme.
OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS INVOLVED IN SCHEME SENTENCED
Authorities say the tax refund scheme was an “extended family enterprise,” leading to the prosecution of five Chiwocha-related family members.
The following family members pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns and were sentenced:
- The couple’s daughter Takabvako Chiwocha-Crowell was sentenced to 42 months of incarceration.
- Their daughter Tsiidzoyedu Callista Chiwocha was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
- The couple’s grandson Qasim Ibn-Ishaq Verser was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
- Their grandson Imran Dawood Ibn-Abdurrahim was sentenced to 54 months in prison.
- The couple’s granddaughter Ruqayya Aida Abdul-Hakim was sentenced to 72 months in prison.