Two Olive Branch women have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of defrauding the government.
Renata Walton, 44, and Nicole Jones, 36, (aka Nicole Dickerson) are alleged to have falsified personal and business tax returns from 2020 through 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee announced Nov. 27. They allegedly filed fraudulent claims seeking more than $65 million, according to a new release announcing the indictment.
The 53-count indictment involves one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 30 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, seven counts of preparing false tax returns, two counts of failing to file taxes, and one count of obstruction of justice.
Walton is also being charged separately with submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications to the Small Business Administration.
Both women have pleaded not guilty and are out on $100,000 bond.
If convicted, they face penalties including 20 years for each count of wire fraud and 10 years for each count of money laundering.
Jones’ and Walton’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office: The two women worked preparing tax returns for Walton’s business out of Moscow, Tennessee, R&B Tax Express. Their alleged scheme worked by filing for multiple COVID-19 tax credits on behalf of clients who did not qualify for them. Once the IRS processed the tax returns, those clients would receive tax refunds reaching the six-digit range — Walton and Jones would then be paid a large fee, which they laundered through local banks, officials said.
Details on how many different clients were involved in the alleged scheme, as well as the total amount Walton and Jones allegedly received were not announced.
The majority of the funds were obtained through the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit, officials said. The Employee Retention Credit was offered to businesses that paid their workers while the business was fully or partially shut down during the pandemic. Similarly, the Sick and Family Leave Credit gives employers tax credits for wages paid to employees who had to take time off due to COVID-19 related issues.
Cases involving pandemic-related fraud are not uncommon. The SBA’s Office of Inspector General estimates that of the $1.2 trillion in COVID-19 EID loans and PPP funds given out during the pandemic, around $200 billion of those funds were potentially fraudulent.
Jacob Wilt is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at jacob.wilt@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Mississippi women indicted in COVID-19 relief scheme: What we know
