12 Charged in Income Tax and Loan Scam

A West Los Angeles businesswoman, her son and 10 of their associates have been indicted on charges of participating in a fraudulent million-dollar tax and student loan scheme, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Maurice M. Suh said Priscilla Ann Hamilton, 40, owner of Priscilla’s Professional Services at 2704 W. Jefferson Blvd., oversaw the preparation of at least 800 phony tax returns and about 30 fraudulent student loan applications.

The indictment handed down last week charges that some of the tax returns and loan applications prepared by Hamilton and her subordinates were submitted for real people but contained false information about dependents, business expenses, fuel-tax credits, charitable deductions and income credits.

In other cases, the returns and applications were filed on behalf of “ghost” people whose identities were based on information cribbed from Social Security files, federal officials said.

Yolanda Carthon, 37, a former Social Security Administration employee, was charged in the indictment with accepting bribes and selling Social Security cards to Hamilton. Hamilton, who allegedly has nine aliases, is accused of using the cards to cash government refund checks.

In addition to Hamilton and Carthon, those indicted include Debra Lorraine Bradford, 44, Valerie Renee Green, 32, Clarence Weekes, 35, James E. Snead, 71, and Hamilton’s 22-year-old son, Jabali Abayomi Oliver, all of Los Angeles; Lashawn Renee Lutcher, 26, of Rialto; Troy Anthony Ray, 38, of Montclair; Rickey Griffin, 34, of Houston; Sharlette White, 41, of Aurora, Colo., and Beatrice Scott of Tucson, Ariz.