In partnership with committed adult volunteers, girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.
That’s straight from the website of the Girl Scouts of the USA, and there’s one former adult volunteer who will likely indeed be committed…to ClubFed.
Holly Barnes of Pace, Florida decided to commit tax fraud and claim some false tax refunds from the IRS. She needed some identities, and chose girls in her Girl Scout troop. She had them sign false medical release statements (which had a place for their social security numbers), and she had all she needed.
So she went on her Bozo scheme, and received $87,000 in tax refunds from the IRS. She continued to file false refund claims even after she was under investigation. Even being charged with 15 counts of identity theft and 19 counts of tax fraud didn’t stop her from trying to cash a check two days before her original hearing date! And shoplifting at the local Navy Exchange. That’s hubris, stupidity, or both.
Wednesday, Ms. Barnes pleaded guilty to all counts in a Pensacola, Florida courtroom. She asked to be released for a couple of days, but the judge had other ideas. “You received the benefit of the court’s trust with the understanding that you would not violate the law,” Judge Casey Rodgers told her. “It’s unfathomable to me … that what [the Assistant US Attorney] has represented to the court might have taken place.”
Assistant US Attorney Stephen Preisser told the Pensacola News-Journal “The long and short of it is Miss Barnes has violated the conditions of her release.” She also pleaded guilty to a new felony theft charge for shoplifting merchandise from the local Navy Exchange.
Ms. Barnes will be held until her sentencing in January. She faces up to 230 years at ClubFed.
News Stories: Pensacola News-Journal, Emerald Coast.com