Concord — William Cote and Kelly Cote of Claremont, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to the information and plea agreements, from 2011 through 2016, the Cotes filed false tax returns using the identities of Kelly's sons and William's stepsons, J.E. and T.E. While J.E. was deployed overseas for the United States military, the Cotes prepared a false tax return for tax year 2011 using his identity. While T.E. was stationed overseas for the United States military, the Cotes prepared and filed false tax returns for tax years 2012 through 2015 using his identity. To obtain larger refunds, the Cotes falsely listed J.E. and T.E. as head of household on the false tax refunds for these returns and deposited the money into their own joint bank account.