Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 12-15-17

Features
Wilbert Malphus, III, Graduates From Alcorn State University; To Pursue Master’s Degree
Tampan Wilbert Mal- phus, III, graduated last Fri- day, December 8, 2017, from Alcorn State University. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Automated and Ro- botic Engineering. He plans to continue at Alcorn, starting in January, pursuing a Mas- ter’s degree.
An outstanding baseball player, Malphus, III, plans to continue playing as a grad- uate student.
Earlier this year, Mal- phus, III, was honored at Alcorn for being a Dean’s Scholar, with a grade point average of 3.79.
Malphus, III, is a grad- uate of Hillsborough High School and went to Alcorn on a baseball scholarship.
He is the son of Wilbert “Choo-Choo” Malphus, Jr., and Ms. Shwanna Carter. His grandparents
WILBERT MALPHUS, III ...Graduates from Alcorn State University
are: Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert (Patricia) Malphus and Ms. Lillie Bell Larry.
U. S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced a former Tampa Police Sergeant to more than 2 years in prison Thurs- day. She pleaded guilty on Au- gust 23, 2017.
Mrs. LaJoyce Houston, 51, of Riverview, was sen- tenced to two years and nine months in federal prison for receiving stolen tax re- funds. The Court also or- dered her to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $61,660.52.
According to court docu- ments, in 2011 and 2012, while working at the Tampa Police Department, Mrs. Houston received goods, services, money orders, and cash that were obtained with debit cards tied to accounts that had been loaded with fraudulently ob- tained tax refunds.
The fraudulent refunds de- posited in these accounts were the result of fraudulent federal income tax returns that had been filed by co-conspirator Rita Girven.
Items received as a result of
LAJOYCE HOUSTON
... Sentenced to 33 months
the fraud included a pool pump system for Mrs. Hous- ton’s home, computers, appli- ances, purses, jewelry, money orders, and cash, among other things. The Court also found that fraudulent tax returns were filed from Mrs. Hous- ton’s home and that online purchases were made from her residence with debit cards that had been loaded with fraudu- lent tax refunds.
In addition, in January 2012, Mrs. Houston used her position at the Tampa Police Department to obtain the per- sonal identifiable information
of five individuals that Mrs. Houston then provided to Ms. Girven to file fraudulent tax returns and/or obtain and access reloadable debit cards, officials said in the press re- lease.
The Court ruled that the fraudulently obtained tax re- funds deposited into the ac- counts from which Mrs. LaJoyce Houston benefited totaled $284,490.41 and that Ms. Houston received more than $150,000 in goods, serv- ices, and cash from these ac- counts.
Mrs. Houston’s co-defen- dant and husband, Eric Houston, pleaded guilty on March 31, 2017, to receiving stolen government property.
He was sentenced on Octo- ber 25, 2017, to six months in federal prison. In a related case, Ms. Rita Girven pleaded guilty on March 16, 2015, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. She was sen- tenced on November 20, 2015, to 12 years in federal prison.
Ex-Police Sgt. Gets 33 Months; Must Pay $61,660.52 To IRS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-A