It was announced by the U.S. Justice Department today that Anchorage resident Helen Delores Maloney was sentenced to prison for Conspiracy to Defraud the Government and Mail Fraud.

45-year-old Maloney was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of defrauding the government in April of this year. In addition to her prison sentence, Maloney had a money judgement leveled against her in the amount of $17,719. She must also forfeit $23,160 that was seized from her residence at the time of her arrest. She must also pay restitution in the amount of $95,568.

Court documents state that Maloney was involved with two conspiracies between July 2009 and January 2012. The objective of both conspiracies was to obtain refunds by filing fraudulent income tax returns. Both schemes involved co-conspirators and victims who were inmates at correctional facilities.

Court documents revealed that the first conspiracy Maloney was involved in occurred between July 2009 and May 2011, when Maloney, co-conspirator John Koesterman, and others, prepared and submitted approximately 55 false tax returns claiming refunds of over $275,000. Koesterman was later indicted.

The court documents also showed that Maloney was involved in a similar conspiracy the overlapped the first. It was between July 2010 and January 2012 that Maloney, along with Steve James McComb, Michael Lee Sexton, and Paulando Ramone Williams, prepared and submitted an additional 21 false tax returns totaling refunds of over $51,000.

After submitting change of address forms for 20 of her victims, her co-conspirators filed false tax returns with refunds and other coorespondence being mailed to her house. Her co-conspirators were indicted in February of 2013 conspiracy to defraud the government and identity theft.

McComb has already pled guilty to the charges in June of this year and will be sentenced in August. Willliams is scheduled to go on trial on September 23rd, 2013, and Koesterman is scheduled to go on trial in August of this year.

Sexton remains a fugitive.

U.S. District Attorney Karen Loeffler commended the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division for conducting the investigation into Maloney.