Thursday, March 18, 2021

Charlotte Woman Pleads Guilty in State Tax Case

Raleigh, NC
Mar 18, 2021

A Charlotte woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court to felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Crystal Luree Phillips, 47, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty on March 16, 2021 to nine counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses. 

Wake County Superior Court Judge Pat Nadolski sentenced Phillips to a 5-month minimum, 15-month maximum prison term.  The sentence was suspended and as a condition of probation, Phillips was ordered to serve 90 days in the custody of the Wake County Sheriff’s Office.  Phillips was also placed on supervised probation for 60 months, complete 100 hours of community service, and pay $41,216.36 in restitution. 

Information presented in court showed that Phillips unlawfully obtained approximately $41,216.36 from the North Carolina Department of Revenue by submitting multiple filings and payments to the North Carolina Department of Revenue by means of false pretenses during the years 2016 and 2017.  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 state tax investigation also revealed that the defendant had attempted to obtain over $380,000.00 in tax credits from the North Carolina 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.