Gwinnett Daily Post

ATLANTA -- A Suwanee woman who "went to great lengths to avoid paying federal income taxes" was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday.

Rose Roye, 64, was sentenced in federal court to prison time and ordered to pay more than $277,000 in restitution for her crimes. Roye was convicted in June on various tax fraud charges.

According to information released by U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, Roye initially obtained an improper tax refund of more than $347,000, then "moved that money around in a series of bank transactions designed to hamper the IRS's efforts to get it back."

Even after being informed of the investigation into her actions, Roye withdrew money and sent "worthless and fictitious bonds" to the IRS in an effort to trick them into forgiving her debt. Among other violations, Roye even filed a form claiming the revenue officer assigned to her case was personally liable to her for more than $500,000.

She sent one senior official a document purporting to be a "private registered bond for setoff" in the amount of $100 billion, Yates said.

"This defendant claimed and received a large tax refund to which she wasn't entitled," Yates said. "Then, instead of paying it back, she hid the money and sent a blizzard of abusive, false and fictitious documents to the IRS."