On October 27, 2020, in the Eastern District of Michigan, Sonja Emery pled guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Emery was initially charged in an 11-count indictment on April 10, 2018, for mail fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, and corrupt endeavor to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to the 11-count indictment, between approximately May 2011 and October 2015, Emery undertook extensive efforts to evade and defeat the assessment and payment of Federal income tax due by her. In some instances, Emery provided her employers with different names and false Social Security Numbers on her tax forms so that the IRS would not be able to link her with the income she earned. Twice in 2011 and once in 2012, Emery filed false IRS Forms W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, with her employers, claiming to be exempt from Federal income tax withholding. In January 2012, the IRS began collection proceedings against Emery, ultimately issuing notices of levy to her employers. Emery obtained an Internet-based fax number and used it to transmit a forged IRS form that fraudulently declared a much lower tax debt. Emery then falsely informed the employer she had satisfied that debt and provided yet another false document to substantiate this claim.

Emery was sentenced to 65 months' incarceration for mail and wire fraud, 60 months' incarceration for tax evasion, three years' supervised release, ordered to pay restitution of more than $2.9 million, and a $200 special assessment fee.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D. Mich. Indict. April 10, 2018, E.D. Mich. Superseding Indict. October 2, 2018, E.D. Mich. Plea Agreement February 18, 2020, and E.D. Mich. Judgment October 27, 2020.