Former judge pleads guilty

A federal judge accepted the guilty plea of a former municipal judge for the Pickens County town of Central. And now that former municipal judge, Janet Reese, awaits sentencing for the offense of filing false tax returns. According to an announcement today by U-S Attorney Bill Nettles, “Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Reese, who is a former municipal judge, operated her own tax preparation business. For tax year 2008, Reese prepared and filed multiple returns for individuals and claimed the First Time Homebuyer Credit on the returns. The taxpayers had never informed Reese that they had purchased a home and, in fact, had not purchased a home. Reese had the refunds from the First Time Homebuyer Credits electronically deposited in an account she controlled. This prevented taxpayers from discovering that Reese had included false information on their returns. Law enforcement estimates that Reese’s fraudulent activity caused the United States Treasury to issue over $360,000 in improper refunds.” Federal Judge Tim Cain will decide the sentence. At the most, Reese could be fined $250 thousand or sentenced to five years in prison, or both.