Guilty plea in $250K tax fraud

Ledale Johnson, 51, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to knowingly filing a false income tax return on behalf of another and aggravated identity theft, in a fraud case worth more than $250,000.

Johnson faces up to five years in federal prison for the tax return count, according to a statement, plus another two possible years on the identity theft count.

According to the plea agreement, Johnson filed false tax returns claiming refunds from the IRS that totaled more than $250,000. Nearly $60,000 was downloaded onto prepaid debit cards in other people's names, authorities add. Between October 2011 and March 2012, Johnson was found with fraudulently loaded debit cards on several occasions.