Accountant pleads guilty in $3.4M tax refund fraud scheme

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A South Florida certified public accountant has pleaded guilty to a lengthy $3.4 million tax refund fraud scheme.

Pamella B. Watson of Davie faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty Friday to wire fraud. Sentencing is set for Dec. 4.

Court documents show Watson falsified tax refund amounts on Internal Revenue Service forms without her clients’ knowledge. Hundreds of returns prepared by Watson had refunds split between her accounts and those of her clients.

The IRS says Watson deposited in her accounts more than $3.4 million in client refund money between January 2011 and September 2014. Watson also diverted thousands of dollars that clients were falsely told was being paid to the IRS for tax liability.