Former Kansas City woman sentenced for $450,000 tax fraud

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City woman has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for a scheme to receive more than $454,000 in illegal tax refunds.

The U.S. Prosecutors office for the Western District of Missouri said Chiquita Tyler, also known as Chiquita Robinson, was sentenced Tuesday. She pleaded guilty earlier to making a false claim to a federal agency and identity theft. Tyler lives in Wylie, Texas.

The court also ordered Tyler to pay about $340,000 in restitution.

Tyler admitted she prepared income tax returns for about 70 people using false or stolen identity information between 2010 and 2011. The refunds were deposited on a prepaid debit card mailed to Tyler.

She faced a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Former Kansas City woman sentenced for $450,000 tax fraud."