Humble woman pleads guilty in second fraud scheme

HUMBLE, TX -- Cheryl Reed Johnson aka Shawnee Reed and Cheryl Reed, 37, of Humble, has been convicted of engaging in a conspiracy to commit bank, mail and wire fraud as well as making false statements to a bank and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

From approximately January 2005 through February 2014, Johnson illegally used various Social Security numbers not assigned to her by the Commissioner of Social Security. She would use those numbers in order to obtain loans from banks and other lending institutions to purchase houses and vehicles.

Johnson was also previously convicted in a second conspiracy related to tax fraud, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to make false claims to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and making a false claim to the IRS. In this scheme, Johnson and others claimed more than $2.2 million in false first time home buyer credits on 2008 returns they filed with the IRS. The fraudulent claims resulted in Johnson and her co-conspirators claiming more than $2.3 million in fraudulent refunds.

Read more from The Humble Observer, a Houston Community Newspaper partner