Baker woman faces felony charges for attempted tax fraud

BATON ROUGE – A Baker woman faces multiple felony charges for attempting to steal tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent state income tax refunds.

Investigators with the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) say Keiasha D. Brister submitted state individual income tax returns containing fabricated payroll documentation and stolen personal data. She submitted fraudulent tax returns on 10 separate occasions between February and April of this year.

LDR’s Criminal Investigations Division intercepted the returns and prevented the issuance of more than $25,000 in fraudulent tax refunds.

Brister was arrested on Tuesday, June 25 with the assistance of Baker city police and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of identity theft, attempted theft and filing false public records. She is the 75^th person arrested under a joint anti-tax fraud initiative of the Louisiana Department of Revenue and the state Attorney General’s office.