Wichita tax preparer sentenced for $100,000 fraud

(AP) – A Wichita tax preparer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $100,000. Sonia Hernandez-Smith, also known as Sonia Raquel Vazquez, was sentenced Tuesday. She had pleaded guilty to one count, after originally being charged with 20 counts. Hernandez-Smith admitted she knowingly prepared income tax returns that falsely claimed tax credits for children that her clients should not have received. The federal public defender had sought probation for Hernandez-Smith, saying a prison sentence was a harsher punishment than necessary for the crime.