Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 7-28-17

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Ladies Of The Sea Owner Indicted In Tax Fraud Scheme
9 Years After Teenager’s Murder, Case Remains Unsolved
On Thursday (this) morn- ing, a Tampa businesswoman was arrested in connection with a federal tax fraud scheme. Mrs. Natalie “Rene Brown” Panko was arrested at her home.
A well-known Tampa na- tive, Mrs. Panko is the owner of Ladies Of The Sea Restau- rant, 2705 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., in East Tampa. She opened the business several years ago at the corner of E. Cass Street and Nebraska Av- enue. She later relocated it to East Tampa.
According to the unsealed indictment, Mrs. Natalie Rene Panko, a.k.a. Rene Brown, was charged with knowingly and willfully conspir- ing with Ms. Mazie Hill and others to convert to her own use and the use of others, more than $1,000 in U. S. currency. The funds were obtained through fraudulently-issued tax refunds.
According to the indictment, the offenses were traced at least between August 2012 and No- vember 2012. Officials said Mrs. Panko and her co-con- spirators would participate in the scheme or help others ob- tain payment from false federal income tax refunds.
The indictment alleges that the defendants would obtain Square Inc., merchant accounts attached to restaurant accounts opened by Mrs. Panko and her co-conspirators at banks and credit unions.
After obtaining the funds, they would withdraw the money after it was deposited. They al- legedly used the money to pay
NATALIE RENE BROWN PANKO
others and to obtain cash and goods for their own use.
Officials said they covered up the transactions by listing the fraudulent debit and credit cards as catering and restaurant business.
Investigators allege some of the transactions conducted by Mrs. Panko and her co-con- spirators include, but are not limited to transactions on: Sep- tember 3rd, for $7,474; October 11th, for $9,335; October 12th, for $9,335; October 13th, for $9,335; November 1st, for $6,248; November 1st, for $6,248; November 2nd, for $6,248; and November 28th, for $8,868. All of the transac- tions were in names of other people who had not authorized anyone to file taxes in their names.
If convicted of the charges filed in the indictment, Mrs. Panko must forfeit at least $33,445, which represents the funds obtained during the ille- gal activity.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
For most people, Thurs- day, July 27th, may be just an- other day. But for Ms. Angela Pearson, it is a day of sadness. It marks the 9th anniversary of her son’s death.
During the early morning hours of Sunday, July 27, 2008, unidentified suspects kicked in the door at 2536 Walnut Street. Levi Dixon, Jr., was the only person at the house at the time.
The unidentified suspect shot the seventeen-year-old and fled the scene. Detectives with the Tampa Police Department have not been able to solve the case. They have been unable to give Ms. Pearson what she wants most --- justice.
“People claim they loved my son, but no one has come for- ward with any information. The people who live in the house where he was killed have never expressed any sorrow. I feel they know what happened to my son. I’m still asking anyone with information to come for- ward.
Ms. Pearson said Levi was not supposed to be at the house where the murder occurred. He was supposed to be spending the night at a friend’s house.
Levi was Ms. Pearson’s only child. He was a gifted gospel singer about to enter his senior year at Blake High
MS. ANGELA PEARSON ... Wants justice for her son
School. He had planned to con- tinue his education and major in music at Bethune-Cookman University. His goal was to be- come an R & B singer.
But a gunman’s bullet ended all of his dreams and as- pirations. Ms. Pearson will never have the opportunity to witness her son pursue his dreams. And, she will never have the opportunity to watch him mature and have a family of his own.
“I want justice. It’s just not fair. I have to live through this pain every minute of every day. I can’t touch my son or hear his voice. I live in agony every day,” she said.
Ms. Janelle McGregor,
spokesman for the Tampa Po- lice Department said, “We know that there are people in our community who know what happened to Levi Dixon and
LEVI DIXON, JR. 10/10/1990 --- 7/27/2008
now is the time for them to speak up. What someone may think is a small or insignificant detail maybe the one missing piece of the puzzle that homi- cide detectives need to make an arrest in this case.
“We need these individuals to make that call to Crime Stop- pers and know that they are doing the right thing to help us bring this grieving mother some closure.”
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to the identity, arrest and con- viction of the person responsi- ble for this murder.
Anyone with information about the murder who wishes to remain anonymous can do so by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS, or www.crimestopperstb.com.
Disturbance Leaves Two Men Injured By Gunfire
Two men were injured by gunfire in a shooting that took place late Wednesday night. Both men were transported to a local hospital.
According to the Tampa Po- lice Department, the shooting took place at the Tzadik Oaks Apartment Complex, 1250 E.
113th Avenue, around 11:40 p.m.
Police said a disturbance pre- ceded the shooting. However, they have not released the names of the victims or their conditions.
The investigation into the shooting is continuing.
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