A woman from Hawaii named Hannah Heart has admitted to serious crimes involving cheating both her mortgage company and the government. This case shows how complicated and harmful fraud can be, and how it affects many people and agencies.
What Happened with the Tax Fraud?
Hannah Heart, a resident of Honolulu, worked with others to trick the IRS (the government office that collects taxes). They created fake documents to get a large tax refund that she was not entitled to. In 2014, they filed a false tax return using her name.
Here’s how they did it: her co-conspirators made a fake form that looked like it came from a bank or mortgage company. This fake form said she had earned over $2.4 million that year, and that more than $1.2 million had already been withheld for taxes. Because the government thought she had paid so much in taxes, they sent her a refund check for $464,904.
Gregory Michael Vogel Sentenced to 51 Months for Shocking Million Dollar Fraud
But it wasn’t just a one-time trick. When the IRS tried to get their money back after discovering the fraud, Heart tried to hide the money. She deposited the refund check into a trust bank account and quickly moved most of the money to another account she controlled. She also sent many false and misleading letters to the IRS to confuse them and slow down their efforts.
Heart also helped another person involved in the scheme to get a fake tax refund. Together, they cashed another fraudulent IRS check for $1 million, which was made out to the other person.
In total, Heart caused the IRS to lose more than $1.6 million through these fake tax refunds.
How She Defrauded Her Mortgage Lender
Heart also tricked her mortgage lender in a separate scam. She had taken out a loan to buy her home in 2006 but stopped making payments in 2010. Because of missed payments, the mortgage lender started foreclosure proceedings in 2022. Foreclosure means the lender tries to take back the house because the payments were not made.
Zaven Yeghiazaryan Pleads Guilty to 13-Count Fraud and Laundering Scheme
Instead of paying what she owed, Heart and her co-conspirators sent the mortgage lender a fake check that appeared to cover the full amount due. The lender initially accepted the check but later found out it was fake and rejected it. Even after this, Heart sent letters demanding the lender accept the fraudulent check as full payment.
Heart intended to cheat the mortgage lender out of over $2 million.
Legal Charges and Investigation
Because of these crimes, Heart pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Mail fraud involves using the mail to carry out a scam. The conspiracy charge means she worked with others to plan and commit the crime.
She faces up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud and up to 5 years for conspiracy to defraud the IRS. She may also have to pay back the money and other fines. A judge will decide her punishment after reviewing all the facts.
Several government agencies, including the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the FBI, are investigating the case.
