A Georgia man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a nationwide tax fraud scheme to more than 200 participants in at least 19 states. He also pleaded guilty to helping others prepare and file false tax returns for individuals recruited to the scheme.
According to court documents, Iran V. Backstrom, also known as Shariyf Noble, of Milledgeville, was the main promoter of the scheme, which involved recruiting clients and preparing false tax returns on their behalf by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Between 2014 and 2016, Backstrom and his co-conspirators held seminars across the county to publicize the scheme. As part of the scheme, Backstrom helped prepare and file tax returns for the participants, which collectively sought more than $25 million in refunds from the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income tax from the participants, thereby entitling the clients to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to or withheld any taxes from these individuals. To make the refund claims appear legitimate, however, Backstrom and his co-conspirators filed tax documents with the IRS that matched the withholding information listed on the tax returns, making them appear as if they had been issued by the banks.
As part of his plea, Backstrom admitted he gave orders to others as part of…
