James of Seaford, Del, known as Bro Messiah Aziz El, a sheik; and Hawkins of Laurel, Del., known as Sis. Crystal Gabri El, a sheikess, were convicted following a one-week trial of one count of conspiracy, 16 counts of making false claims for income tax refunds and three counts of mail fraud for actions that occurred between October 2011 and October 2013.
The two had operated Release Refunds from locations in Brick, N.J. and Seaford. Their scheme involved sending flyers offering preparation services to inmates, who were asked to provide basic identification and sign income tax returns and other Internal Revenue Service documents, but to omit income and withholding information. James and Hawkins fabricated that data in order to receive inflated refunds.
An undercover agent from the IRS' Criminal Investigation unit, posing as a prison inmate from New Jersey, completed a form from Release Refunds. James and Hawkins then sent documents for the agent to sign, without requesting any financial information, and then prepared three returns with fake income information for the tax years 2010 through 2012. The returns claimed several thousand dollars in refunds while the duo charged a $1,485 fee.
The conspiracy count carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. The fraudulent claims counts each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and the mail fraud counts 20 years each. The defendants also face a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of the gain or loss from the offense, for each count. Sentencing is scheduled for May 11.
The couple's names stem from their involvement with the Holy Moorish Emporium for which James is known as Grand Sheik and Hawkins as Sheikess. Their organization, associated with the International Moorish Good Will Society, protested their 2013 arrest, claiming it was kidnapping without due process.