NEW ORLEANS – A St. Charles Parish woman who used her LaPlace office and numerous unsuspecting St. John Parish victims to secure almost $2 million in fraudulent tax refunds was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in jail.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite announced Cathy Ross Vinnett, of Destrehan, was sentenced for conspiracy to defraud the United States and, specifically, the Internal Revenue Service.

U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle sentenced Cathy Vinnett, 47, to 41 months incarceration, three years supervised release and restitution to the United States in the amount of $1,092,681.43.

According to court documents, Cathy Vinnett opened the D&C Tax Service in 2006. In 2008, Cathy Vinnett and Lashanda Vinnett created River Parish Tax Professionals. River Parish was established for the purpose of filing fraudulent tax returns.

Lashanda Vinnett, Cathy’s daughter, will be sentenced by Lemelle Oct. 29.

“Cathy Vinnett prepared hundreds of fraudulent tax returns that resulted in over $1.8 million in intended fraudulent refunds for her clients,” Polite said. “Now, she must surrender her liberty and the ill-gotten gains.”

The Vinnetts, according to Polite, through River Parish, filed approximately 310 tax returns, which falsely claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, as well as the listing of false dependents, resulting in approximately $1.845 million in intended fraudulent tax refunds.

Prior to Wednesday’s proceeding, the IRS seized approximately $482,000 in illegal proceeds from bank accounts controlled by the Vinnetts. In addition, the IRS successfully detected and prevented approximately $270,000 in intended fraudulent refunds before they were processed.

“Cathy Vinnett’s sentencing is justice for American taxpayers,” said Gabriel L. Grchan, IRS-Criminal Investigation special agent in charge. “She defrauded the government out of more than a million dollars of taxpayer money and took advantage of a stimulus designed to help the struggling economy.” 

Cathy Vinnett and Lashanda Vinnett utilized recruiters to locate potential clients. These recruiters advised potential clients the federal government was giving out stimulus money and instructed the individuals to visit River Parish in order to obtain their money.

The Vinnetts would interview clients at their office in LaPlace, Polite said, to obtain their personal information including their name, address and Social Security Number.

The Vinnetts used that personal information to file false tax returns. The clients had no knowledge the Vinnetts were filing false returns in their names.

The Vinnetts specifically attempted to conceal and shield Cathy’s identity with the IRS, knowing the IRS previously suspended her Electronic Filing Identification Number as a result of a fraudulent tax scheme involving D&C Tax Service.

In 2009, Cathy Vinnett knowingly made material false statements to IRS federal agents, Polite said, when she claimed she had no knowledge about false tax returns being prepared at River Parish, she did not own a tax business and her brother was the owner of River Parish.