A federal grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee has indicted two women from North Mississippi on multiple charges related to defrauding over $65 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The indictment was announced by Reagan Fondren, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. Renata Walton, 44, and Nicole Jones, also known as Nicole Dickerson, 36, both from Olive Branch, Mississippi, are accused of falsifying information on personal and business tax returns submitted to the IRS from 2020 to 2024. Walton, the owner of R&B Tax Express in Moscow, Tennessee, and Jones allegedly filed for COVID-19 related tax credits, such as the Employee Retention Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit, for clients who were not eligible. This resulted in clients receiving significant tax refunds, from which Walton and Jones collected substantial fees, subsequently laundered through local banks. Additionally, Walton is charged with submitting fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans to the Small Business Administration. The indictment includes one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 30 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, seven counts of preparing false tax returns, two counts of failing to file taxes, and one count of obstruction of justice. The penalties for these charges are severe, with Walton and Jones facing maximum sentences of 20 years for each count of wire fraud and conspiracy, 10 years for each money laundering count, three years for each count of preparing false tax returns, and one year for each count of failing to file a tax return. Walton also faces 20 years for the obstruction of justice charge. Both women have been released on a $100,000 bond. The investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, with Assistant United States Attorney William Carey Bateman III prosecuting. It’s important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Updates can be followed from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or X at @WDTNNews.
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Murfreesboro Man Sentenced for 2020 Crime Spree
Joshua Hallmon from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 41 years in federal prison for a series of violent crimes in July 2020, including robberies, carjackings, and kidnappings. Co-defendants Charles Melvin Walker and Walter Lee Williams received 16-year sentences each. The crimes involved armed robberies and violent acts across Murfreesboro and Franklin, investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Suedekum and Rachel Stephens.