A former St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office lieutenant and his wife pled guilty to charges that they filed false federal tax returns using the names of inmates to collect more than $800,000, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office.
Warren LeBeauf Jr., 42, and Tamara Scott-Landry, 37, both pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in front of U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on Monday. Additionally, Scott-Landry pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
LeBeauf and Scott-Landry face a maximum prison term of 10 years for conspiracy, a fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Scott-Landry also faces a maximum prison term of 20 years on the wire fraud charge and a mandatory two year sentence for aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Scott-Landry applied for and received an Electronic Filers Identification number from the IRS in 2004. That allowed her business, Scott’s Accounting Service, to prepare and file tax returns. LeBeauf, who was employed by the Sheriff’s Office at that time, had the ability to obtain the personal information of prisoners through the Louisiana Law Enforcement Telecommunications System.
Scott-Landry then provided LeBeauf with a list of prison inmate names and LeBeauf had the names run through the LLETS system, according to authorities.
Scott-Landry used the information to file fraudulent tax returns and the funds were deposited into bank accounts controlled by LeBeauf and Scott-Landry, according to court documents.
In one instance, authorities say that Scott-Landry withdrew nearly $26,000 in cash over a three-day period and both her and LeBeauf went to a Chevrolet dealership and purchased a 2004 Suburban with a paper bag full of cash.
When authorities executed a search warrant at Scott-Landry’s residence, they say they discovered inmate names and other items used in the fraud inside the 2004 Suburban parked in the driveway. During the search warrant, and in the presence of almost a dozen armed IRS agents, LeBeauf arrived with an unknown person and attempted to leave with the vehicle.
According to court records, Scott-Landry filed tax returns fraudulently claiming approximately $810,183.
Both Scott-Landry and LeBeauf will be sentenced in September.
Letten and James Lee, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation both offered their thanks to Sheriff Greg Champagne and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office for “providing valuable assistance in this investigation and for their outstanding law enforcement partnership.”
LeBeauf was terminated by the Sheriff’s Office on July 30, 2010, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Pat Yoes.
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