Loganville woman charged in tax scheme targeting truck drivers

MACON, Ga. - A Loganville tax preparer faces a 54-count federal indictment after allegedly defrauding dozens of self-employed truck drivers out of estimated tax payments.

What we know:

Diane Marie Poe, 62, is the owner of Genuine Financial Services, Inc. (GFS) in Walton County, federal prosecutors stated. 

Her company provided bookkeeping, payroll, payroll tax services, and business and personal tax preparation and filing. Clients normally paid estimated payroll taxes to the company, according to officials. 

She allegedly defrauded at least 26 individuals, mostly self-employed truck drivers. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office stated she accepted payments for tax-filing services she did not deliver and failed to remit them to the IRS. 

Prosecutors also accused her of not filing her own personal, business, and company payroll taxes for her employees.

The FBI and the IRS are investigating the case, with assistance from the Loganville Police Department, Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Walton County District Attorney’s Office.

What's next:

Poe faces up to 30 years in prison per count of bank fraud, up to 10 years per count of federal program theft, up to five years per count of failure to pay taxes, up to three years per count of making a false return, and up to one year per count of failure to file a corporate return. There is no parole in the federal system.

What we don't know:

According to federal prosecutors, Poe's clientele came from word of mouth in the truck business, so it's unclear if more truck drivers could have been impacted by this scheme. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office is encouraging any individuals who might have used GFS services or employed Poe for tax services to call the FBI Atlanta at 770-216-3000.