Four More Arrested on Tax Charges

Arrests continue to mount in the South Carolina Department of Revenue probe into fraudulent tax returns.

So far, the agency has charged 11 Lowcountry residents, most from Mount Pleasant, with filing fraudulent tax forms to get larger refunds.

On Tuesday, two men were arrested following the ongoing investigation.

Trevor Alston, of Mount Pleasant, and Aubrey German, of Huger, were booked into the Charleston County Detention Center on separate counts of assisting in the preparation of a false return and forgery, according to a Department of Revenue news release.

Trevor Alston in 2009 allegedly submitted via a tax preparer a fraudulent W2 form in which he inflated the wages and withholding information, the Department of Revenue said.

Alston, 23, received a federal and state income tax refund of $4,954 and $618, respectively, to which he was not entitled, the tax agency alleges.

Aubrey German in 2008 filed his taxes with a W2 form in which he had inflated the wages and withholding information. He received fraudulent federal and state tax refunds in the amounts of $3,720 and $620, respectively, the department of revenue alleges.

If convicted of the charges, German could face up to $500 in fines and/or 10 years in prison. Alston faces the same fine and up to 15 years in prison.

On July 18, Luther Smalls and Smarty Campbell, both of Mount Pleasant, were booked into the Charleston County Detention Center for separate charges of assisting in the preparation of a false return and forgery, according to a Department of Revenue news release.

Like the seven other suspects recently arrested, Luther Smalls in 2008 allegedly used a fraudulent W2 to obtain a fraudulent state income tax refund of $713.

Campbell, 64, submitted to a tax preparer his 2009 income tax returns containing a fraudulent W2 form that resulted in a state tax refund of $474 to which he was not entitled, the Department of Revenue alleges.

Seven other suspects have been arrested on similar charges in the Charleston area.