Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 5-9-17

Features
Track Scholarship Recipient Convicted Of Tax Fraud Charges
TEONA RODGERS
... Convicted of filing false federal income tax returns
A Tampa native was con- victed of tax fraud charges by a Tallahassee federal jury. The two-day trial of Ms. Teona N. Rodgers, 27, of Tampa, ended last Thursday.
Ms. Rodgers was con- victed of theft of government funds, possession of 15 or more unauthorized access de- vices, use of unauthorized ac- cess devices, aggravated identity theft, and false claims.
Officials said 64 false tax returns attempting to obtain $465,948 in false income tax returns were traced to Ms. Rodgers. She is scheduled to be sentenced on August 4th, in Tallahassee.
According to the federal government, while on a track and field scholarship at Florida State University, Ms. Rodgers participated in a scheme to file fraudulent in- come tax returns during the 2011 and 2012 tax years by using other people’s personal information.
The scheme was discov- ered in November 2013, when two notebooks and 12 debit cards in other people’s names were discovered in the Talla- hassee apartment Ms.
Rodgers had recently moved out of.
The notebooks contained handwritten names, dates of birth, Social Security num- bers, tax refund amounts, ac- count numbers, and other data of more than 150 indi- viduals.
The notebooks also in- cluded notations such as “re- jected” and “filed,” and detailed instructions to file a return reporting $47,196 of interest income. This amount was used on multiple tax re- turns in this scheme (includ- ing Ms. Rodgers’s own 2011 and 2012 returns).
Investigators determined that the returns linked to Ms. Rodgers and that the false returns had funded the debit cards. She used the debit cards to make purchases.
Ms. Rodgers faces a maximum of 15 years in prison on the use of unautho- rized access devices count; 10 years in prison on the theft of government funds and pos- session of unauthorized ac- cess devices counts; 5 years in prison on the false claims count, and a consecutive 2- year sentence on the aggra- vated identity theft charge.
State Attorney’s Office Seeks Help To Prosecute Teen In Death Of Another
ATTORNEY RENA FRAZIER Public Information Officer for the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last month, members of the community were upset when the Hillsborough County State Attorney declined to prosecute a teenager involved in a fatal shooting. Many won- dered why the teenager was not prosecuted.
However, Attorney Rena Frazier, Public Information Officer for the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office explained why prosecution had not taken place.
“The occurrence of fatal in- cidents involving teenagers and guns is alarming. There are few events as tragic as the untimely death of a young per- son, and it tears through the fabric of our community.
“We sympathize with the family of Jayquon Johnson for the loss of their loved one. But, our job as State Attorney is to evaluate each case on its own facts and merits, with the goal of promoting public safety and the fair and impar- tial application of the law. Al- though the investigation into his shooting death is still on- going, the evidence that we have to date shows Mr. Johnson and the shooter were willingly engaged in a drug transaction.
JAYQUON JOHNSON 7/8/1999 --- 1/1/2017
“Currently, there is an in- sufficient basis to charge the shooter with homicide, includ- ing felony murder, as there is no evidence to rebut his claim of self-defense. Law enforce- ment is still in the process of trying to obtain the identity of another witness to the tragic incident, and no one is coming forward with this informa- tion.”
She further stated that the shooter said and evidence sug- gested Johnson pulled a gun first and he (the shooter) in re- turn pulled his gun and fired.
Attorney Frazier further stated that in this case and any case, the community must come forward with informa- tion in order to assure that jus- tice is done. Witness information is critical in this case and any case that law en- forcement is investigating.
“We must all work together to reduce the prevalence of il- legal firearms in our commu- nity, especially among teenagers,” she said.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested both Heidi Quinn, and son, Cody Quinn, but neither was charged with Johnson’s death.
Detectives said that during the investigation, two guns were found and both had dirt
CODY QUINN
... Admitted to shooting Jayquon Johnson
on them. Ms. Quinn had al- legedly taken both guns and buried them. She then re- trieved the guns and put them back in the garage. She was charged with two felony counts of tampering with evi- dence.
Cody Quinn was charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm, which is a misde- meanor. He was also charged with felony possession with the intent to sell, drug traffick- ing, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Investigators said in the charging affidavits that John- son had gone to purchase marijuana from Quinn and both were armed. Quinn al- leged that Johnson at- tempted to rob him and he shot in self-defense.
Police said there was an in- dependent witness to the shooting. That person has not been identified by police.
Jayquon was the son of Ms. Kennishia Doyle-An- derson and Johnny John- son, Sr., a Tampa native and attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. He was a starting member of the Bran- don High School Basketball Team at the time of his death.
Quinn was a sophomore at Bloomingdale High School at the time of the shooting.
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