A Charlotte woman was convicted on Thursday in Wake County Superior Court on felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Kimberly Darice Brantley Phillips, 41, of 1423 Briar Creek Road Apt E, Charlotte, was found guilty on September 26, 2019 of 10 counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Becky Holt sentenced Phillips to a 6-month minimum, 17-month maximum active prison term followed by supervised probation for a period of 36 months. In addition, Phillips was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,506.56.
Information presented during the trial showed that Phillips unlawfully obtained approximately $14,506.56 from the State by submitting multiple fraudulent filings and payments, to the North Carolina Department of Revenue by means of false pretenses during the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. These false representations were calculated with the intent to deceive the North Carolina Department of Revenue into issuing refunds to the defendant to which she was not legally entitled to receive. The defendant attempted to obtain over $500,000 in credit from the Department of Revenue.
The charges against Phillips resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh and was prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions attorneys in the office of the Attorney General.