Bloods Street Gang Tax Preparer Sentenced in Federal Court

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Daion Ali Bowers, age 27, of Columbia, South Carolina, was sentenced today in federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Sections 1343 and 1349. United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. of Columbia sentenced Bowers to 63 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Bowers pled guilty to this charge in January earlier this year. Judge Anderson also ordered that Bowers repay the federal government over $1.2 million in restitution for fraudulent tax refunds paid out as a result of the wire fraud scheme.

Evidence presented at the change of plea and sentencing hearings established that Bowers recruited several co-conspirators to provide Bowers with names and identifiers so that Bowers could file fraudulent tax returns. The investigation revealed that Bowers recruited Tashanda “Big Momma Blood” Parker to obtain identifiers from individuals, including Bloods gang members, who were seeking to have fraudulent tax returns filed. Parker obtained identification information for several members of the Gangster Killer Blood set of the Bloods Street Gang in Columbia, South Carolina, and Bowers ultimately filed fraudulent electronic tax returns for several of those Bloods members. Tashanda Parker pled guilty earlier this year to wire fraud conspiracy and racketeering conspiracy, and she is currently awaiting sentencing by Judge Anderson.

Bowers and others working on his behalf filed over 600 fraudulent returns in 2011 that requested over $2.5 million in fraudulent refunds. Over $1.2 million’s worth of those requested fraudulent refunds were paid out by the federal government. As part of his sentence, Bowers is required to pay restitution for the $1.2 million in fraudulent refunds that were paid out.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys JD Rowell, Mark C. Moore and William Witherspoon of the Columbia Office prosecuted the case.