A Paducah woman could spend decades in prison after a jury convicted her on nine federal charges for false claims and wire fraud.
The Department of Justice said 52 year-old Natasha Harris-Johnson filed eight tax returns for the 2018 and 2019 tax years on behalf of trusts she created, claiming nearly $30 million in tax refunds she wasn’t entitled to.
Harris-Johnson also filed a fraudulent application with the Small Business Administration for Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors said she got roughly $160,000 in Small Business Administration funds from that fraudulent application.
Following a week-long trial, a Paducah jury determined Harris-Johnson was guilty on all nine federal charges on January 16.
Harris-Johnson faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the eight false claims charges and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge.
She is expected to be sentenced on April 22.
There is no parole in the federal system.
Source: WHAS11
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