Arizona woman sentenced for filing false federal tax returns

A Glendale woman has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for filing false tax returns.

Federal prosecutors say 40-year-old Jenniffer Torner Lopez previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in connection with identification documents and a separate count of illegal re-entry after deportation.

In her plea agreement, Lopez admitted to engaging in a false tax preparation scheme by using foreign identification cards to obtain taxpayer ID numbers.

She then filed returns for numerous people who neither lived nor worked in the United States.

The Internal Revenue Service paid out more than $246,000 in tax refunds to Lopez, who put some of the money toward buying a house.

The court ordered Lopez to pay restitution to the IRS, which will be satisfied in part by forfeiting her home.