TAX NEWS - March 2009

Delaware tax: New Castle Man Pleads No Contest to Attempted Theft of State Tax Refund

(Wilmington, DE) – Patrick T. Carter, Director of Revenue announced today that a New Castle man pleaded no contest in NCC Superior Court in connection with the attempted theft of a state income tax refund.

Edward A. Barksdale, 28, pleaded no contest before NCC Judge Mary Johnston to one misdemeanor count of attempted theft based on a false and fraudulent income tax return filed with the State of Delaware.

Barksdale was originally charged in a two-count indictment in October 2008 with one felony count of filing a false tax return, as well as one count of attempted theft.

An investigation conducted by the Delaware Division of Revenue's Criminal Investigation Unit established that Barksdale electronically filed a false 2006 income tax return in an attempt to obtain a fraudulent income tax refund from the State of Delaware. Specifically, Barksdale attached a false W-2 form overstating his state withholding tax in an attempt to substantiate the false claim. Barksdale sought to have the refund directly deposited into a credit union account in his own name.

The Division of Revenue discovered the fraud during the processing of tax returns. The Division matches and verifies wages and withholding amounts reported on tax returns filed with information provided by employers.

Barksdale was sentenced by Judge Johnston to one year in jail, suspended for one year supervised probation. He was also ordered to pay a $100 fine as well as the costs of prosecution.

This case was prosecuted by the Delaware Attorney General's Office.