Miami-Dade Police Officer Charged In Tax Scam

MIAMI, FL — A Miami-Dade Police officer has been arrested in connection with an IRS tax scam. Twenty-eight-year-old Ebony Nesbitt of North Miami was charged with conspiracy and theft of government money. Nesbit made her first appearance in federal court on Thursday.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg in Miami, FBI Special Agent In Charge Robert F. Lasky, Acting IRS Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of Criminal Investigation and Director Juan J. Perez of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

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If convicted, Nesbitt faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Nesbitt is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 12.

"Nesbitt participated in a scheme in which she and her co-conspirators designated Nesbitt’s Higher One, Inc. bank account to receive the direct deposit of a fraudulently obtained federal income tax refund," according to federal prosecutors. "The refund was deposited into Nesbitt’s Higher One, Inc. account on Oct. 2, 2013, before Nesbitt joined the MDPD as a police officer."

Photo by Paul Scicchitano