A former IRS tax examiner was indicted Friday along with three conspirators for filing false tax returns and making false claims for lost income related to the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The IRS worker, Jimmie McCorvey of Pensacola, FL, helped the other three obtain $95,200 from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) based on false claims of lost income from the spill. McCorvey was also charged with identity theft for filing 25 false tax returns that netted him more than $60,000 in tax refunds.
The four defendants and the charges are spelled out in a Justice Department statement:
Four Pensacola residents, including a former IRS tax examiner, have been indicted for conspiring to file false claims for payment in connection with the 2010 BP oil spill. The indictment was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Rosa M. Bonner, 52, Ariyanna S. Lampley, 33, Jimmie A. McCorvey, 41, and Marcia D. McCorvey, 42, all of Pensacola, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud for filing false claims with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”) alleging lost income as a result of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The indictment alleges that between 2010 and 2012, the defendants agreed to have Jimmie McCorvey file false GCCF claims in their names. Lampley is also alleged to have provided Jimmie McCorvey with additional identities for filing false GCCF claims. The indictment alleges that as a result of these false claims, GCCF paid $95,200 to the defendants.
Jimmie McCorvey, who was an IRS employee at the time, is also charged with conspiring to file false tax returns. The indictment alleges that between 2009 and 2011, Jimmie McCorvey prepared and filed approximately 25 fraudulent federal income tax returns, resulting in the issuance of more than $62,000 in tax refund checks. The indictment further charges Jimmie McCorvey with aggravated identity theft for fraudulently using other people’s identities in both schemes.
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility has since transitioned to the Deepwater Horizon Economic Claims Center based on a court supervised settlement program in 2012.
