ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A western North Carolina couple has pleaded guilty to filing at least 1,000 false income tax returns, getting more than $3.5 million.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that court documents show that Senita Birt Dill, 45, and Ronald Jeremy Knowles, 40, used tax preparation software programs and fraudulently obtained personal information to get refunds.
Prosecutors say the couple rented a lake home in Polk County and used addresses of the nearby vacation homes to file false returns. Prosecutors say the couple  took the refund checks from mailboxes at those homes.
Prosecutors say the scheme started in 2009 and ended in May.
Dill faces up to 27 years in prison and a $500,000 fine when she is sentenced. Knowles faces up to 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.