5 Indiana residents indicted in tax fraud scheme

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A federal grand jury has indicted five South Bend residents in a tax fraud scheme that bilked the government out of more than $3.5 million.

The five people indicted Wednesday on federal fraud charges allegedly worked together to file nearly 1,200 false tax returns for 2008-10.

The Elkhart Truth reports federal prosecutors allege the five individuals either purchased people's information or convinced them to hire the group to file their tax return.

The grand jury in Hammond found the group then inflated the income reported on the tax forms and filed for tax returns.

The indictment alleges the resulting tax refunds were direct deposited "and typically split amongst bank accounts or a debit card owned by the client and a bank account owned or controlled by the defendants."