Patterson man sentenced to 60 months for scheme to commit tax fraud

A Patterson man was sentenced to 60 months in prison Monday for his role in a scheme to use stolen identities to file false tax returns and pocket refunds, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley said in a news release.
Louis W. Carbins Jr., 37, of Patterson, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, seven counts of theft of government money and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to jail time, Drell sentenced Carbins to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $43,045.31 to the IRS and $2,196.71 to Patterson State Bank in restitution.
Carbins was found guilty on all charges after a three-day trial that ended May 25.
According to evidence submitted at trial, from February 2013 to August 2013, Carbins and co-defendant Laphrida T. Watts, 40, from Morgan City, but who currently resides in Palmdale, California, knew and allowed individuals from overseas to use stolen identities to file tax returns, Finley said.
The overseas individuals then directed the IRS to deposit the refunds into Carbins’ bank accounts. Carbins and Watts would then wire some of the money overseas and keep the rest. The IRS issued more than $815,000 in refunds to Carbins’ accounts. Carbins and Watts spent $45,681.22 of the funds, Finley said.
Watts pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. She faces up to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for the conspiracy count and an additional two years in prison for the identity theft count. Watts is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 26.