Jacksonville Woman Charged with Fraudulently Seeking over $130 Million in Tax Refunds

Jacksonville, Florida – Candia V. Williams, a/k/a “Wisdom Shield El,” has been charged by indictment with one count of conspiring to submit false claims and three counts of submitting false claims to the United States government. If convicted on all counts, Williams faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. According to the indictment, Williams caused at least four fraudulent tax returns to be submitted to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeking, in total, over $130 million in tax refunds. To substantiate the false claims for refunds, various false documents were submitted, including fictious IRS Form 1099-As and W-4s. In one instance, a refund check was issued but the IRS levied bank accounts to recover the proceeds of the fraud. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican. On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs. Indictment