Former owner of tax preparation company pleads guilty in fraud case

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) -- A woman pleaded guilty in connection with a fraud investigation tied to Hurricane Ida recovery.

Starr Carbo, identified by the Louisiana Department of Revenue as a former co-owner of Global Tax Service, was one of three Westwego women arrested in 2022. The arrests stemmed from an investigation into fraudulent sales tax refund claims for property damaged by the 2021 hurricane.

Carbo pleaded guilty to a charge of injuring public records on July 15. She was sentenced to three years of probation and was ordered by the court to complete a theft deterrence class, reimburse $4,000 to the state revenue department and avoid preparing state tax returns while on probation.

Johnnie Mae Ricard pleaded guilty to a charge of injuring public records in July 2023. O