A federal grand jury has indicted Candia V. Williams, also known as “Wisdom Shield El,” for allegedly attempting to claim more than $130 million in fraudulent tax refunds from the federal government.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the charges, which include one count of conspiring to submit false claims and three counts of submitting false claims to the United States. If convicted on all counts, Williams faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Williams submitted at least four fraudulent tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service. Prosecutors state that bogus paperwork, including fabricated IRS Form 1099-As and Form W-4s, was used to support the massive refund requests.
In at least one instance, a refund check was issued, but the IRS later placed levies on bank accounts to claw back the funds.
The case was investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
The prosecution falls under the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, established on April 7 to target schemes against the public. The division’s efforts align with President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, an interagency initiative chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to address waste, fraud, and abuse across federal programs.
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