RALEIGH – A Wilmington woman charged by the North Carolina Department of Revenue with obtaining property by false pretenses was sentenced Wednesday in Wake County District Court.

Lucinda Carraway, 41, of 809 N. 7th St., Wilmington entered guilty pleas on Aug. 13, 2003 to three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. The state's evidence showed that Carraway knowingly filed fraudulent North Carolina income tax returns for tax years 1999, 2000 and 2001 using fictitious wage and tax statements. The wage and tax statements used to prepare Carraway's tax returns falsely represented that she was employed by local businesses and had North Carolina income taxes withheld from her wages. Based on the fraudulent information presented, the Department of Revenue issued income tax refunds totaling $765 to Carraway that she was not entitled to receive.

District Court Judge Craig Croom sentenced Carraway to a six-month minimum, eight-month maximum prison term. The sentence was suspended and she was placed on supervised probation for 36 months. As a special condition of probation, Carraway was placed on intensive probation for six months. In addition, she must pay a criminal fine of $300 and pay $765 in restitution to the Department of Revenue. Carraway was also ordered to timely and lawfully file and pay all state taxes in the future.

The charges against Carraway resulted from an investigation by a special agent in the Department of Revenue's Criminal Investigations Division. The investigation into the filing of fraudulent North Carolina income tax returns using fictitious W-2 forms continues in the Wilmington area and additional arrests are possible.

Last modified on: 10/31/07 03:44:05 PM.