Detroit parents charged with selling kids' Social Security numbers

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Twin sisters from Detroit are charged with selling their children's Social Security numbers so income tax filers could claim the kids as their dependents and boost their refunds.

Karhonda and Kashaunda Prophet, both 34, are charged with assisting false income tax returns in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

Karhonda Prophet has two minor children; her sister Kashaunda has five.

Between 2004 and 2006, the sisters sold their children's Social Security numbers to various tax filers who falsely claimed them as dependents, the complaint alleges. The sisters received kickbacks of a few hundred dollars from each of the inflated tax refunds that resulted, the complaint says.

The charge is a three-year felony.

"Refunds are issued to taxpayers who are entitled to them," said Steve Moore, a spokesman for the criminal investigation division of the Internal Revenue Service. "The IRS will continue to aggressively pursue those who file false tax returns."

The Prophets could not be reached for comment and have not yet appeared in federal court.

pegan@detnews.com (313) 222-2069