A traveling minister from Little Rock is one of two people indicted Tuesday in a multimillion-dollar tax-refund scam, authorities said.
Allen D. Miles, 57, of Little Rock, and Ve Sayavong, 37, of Jonesboro, Ga., each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud.
The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, where the case was investigated, said in a statement that Miles in 2011 falsely told congregants from various states including Ohio that they were eligible for a government stimulus program in order to take their personal information, which he sent to Zinara Highsmith, who previously pleaded guilty to charges tied to the scheme.
Authorities say Highsmith, Sayavong and others then filed about 2,750 fraudulent tax returns generating about $4.8. million in refunds. According to the statement, Miles got $125 from each refund, while Highsmith received $275 and the rest was given to the taxpayer.
The returns falsely sought refunds using credits including the American Opportunity Credit, the Making Work Pay Credit and the Earned Income Credit, investigators said.
"These defendants were part of a scheme in which they took advantage of their victims' faith and tax credits designed to help the least among us," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach said in the statement.