Date: Feb. 21, 2025
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Tulsa, OK — Today, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Amy D. Shelton for Bank Fraud and Willfully Making and Subscribing a False Federal Income Tax Return. Judge Frizzell ordered Shelton to be imprisoned for 30 months, followed by five years of supervised release. Further, Judge Frizzell ordered Shelton to pay $870,934.67 in restitution to her former employer and $309,167 to the IRS.
“Shelton not only stole from a local business owner, but she also betrayed her employer’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “This deliberate decision not only affected her employer but also defrauded the government, harming taxpayers.”
“Ms. Shelton’s sentence sends a clear message that tax fraud is not a victimless crime, and the government will hold these criminals accountable for their actions,” said Christopher J. Altemus Jr., Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Dallas Field Office (IRS-CI). “She broke the trust of her former employer by embezzling more than a million dollars and then chose not to include all her income when she filed her taxes. The women and men of IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to bring people to justice who blatantly disregard their civic duty and willfully break the law by filing false tax returns. As part of her plea agreement and sentencing, Ms. Shelton is ordered to pay almost $1.2 million in restitution to her former employer and the IRS for back taxes, penalties, and interest.”
According to court documents, Shelton began working as an account manager for her employer in 2015. She was entrusted with handling payroll, paying bills, collecting rent, and updating financial documents. From May 2019 through November 2022, Shelton wrote more than 150 checks to herself, totaling more than 1.1 million dollars. With those funds, Shelton purchased luxury items, including recreational vehicles, purses, jewelry, and dozens of firearms. Further, Shelton did not report her income accurately and falsified her tax refunds.
Shelton was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot P. Anderson prosecuted it.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.