Woman Arrested for Laundering Cash She Believed to be the Proceeds of Illegal Drug Distribution

Ronda D. Hite was arrested this week after being indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, five counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to prepare false income tax returns, and 29 counts of preparing false income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008 for 15 clients of a tax preparation company she operated in Cleveland, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

The indictment, filed April 12, alleges that Hite laundered cash she believed to be the proceeds of illegal drug distribution by providing official checks payable to an individual in exchange for the cash plus a cash fee for the money laundering service.

The indictment also alleges Hite prepared returns for his clients reporting fictitious or falsely inflated amounts of business income and claiming refunds that were false in their entirety or falsely inflated. Each return contained a Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, that reported false amounts of gross receipts, deductions (in some instances), and net profit. Each return then claimed a false or falsely inflated Earned Income Credit that was computed based on the false amount of reported business income. In addition, some returns claimed a false or falsely inflated Additional Child Tax Credit. The information alleges that the 29 false returns claimed total refunds, computed using the false tax credits, that were approximately $64,503 more than the total refunds to which the clients were entitled.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Perry D. Mastrocola and Assistant United States Attorney Robert Patton following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.