Scout leader pleads guilty to tax fraud |
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Published
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Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:48
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PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A Girl Scout leader pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing her scouts' Social Security numbers and using them in a tax fraud scheme that netted $87,000 in illegal refunds.Holly M. Barnes, 33, entered pleas to 19 counts of making false tax refund claims to the Internal Revenue Service and 15 counts of identity theft before U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers.She also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of stealing government property by shoplifting 32 pieces of merchandise from the Pensacola Navy Exchange and then returning them for refunds totaling $6,012.44 even though she didn't have any receipts.She could face a maximum of 230 years in prison when sentenced. Her lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.Barnes admitted asking parents of the girls in her troop at nearby Pea Ridge to provide their children's Social Security numbers for a fake medical release she claimed was required to take trips.She then electronically filed false tax returns that included Social Security numbers of 15 scouts and her own four children to obtain refunds using the screen names 'Hotmama983' and 'Freewoman74.'The Girl Scouts terminated her as a troop leader last November when informed of the investigation. A magistrate also ordered Barnes to stop coaching a local soccer team after she was arrested in September.Barnes was being held in jail until sentencing Jan. 18.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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