NORFOLK, Va. – A former tax accountant on Monday was sentenced to six-and-a-half years behind bars for bilking Navy FCU out of more than $630,000 as part of a car loan scheme.
Donald Lawson, Jr., 47, and co-defendant Lawrence L. Pettaway admitted that in 2007 and 2008 they falsified loan applications to obtain money for cars they never intended to purchase. They submitted phony tax returns and pay stubs to get the loans.
Lawson retained more than $300,000 from the loans for himself and Pettaway, prosecutors said.
Also, Lawson admitted filing false tax returns for clients of his Chesapeake tax preparer business between 1998 and 2008. He admitted bilking the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $54,000 in refunds the clients were not entitled to receive.
A part of his sentence Lawson was ordered to pay $631,785.96 to Navy FCU.
