Haymarket woman faces identity theft, fraud charges

Press release: 

Karen Holtz, 50, of Haymarket, was arrested today on charges related to her role in a financial fraud and identity theft scheme while working for JMS Ventures, Inc.

Holtz, who was indicted on October 26, is charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and filing false tax returns. The indictment was unsealed this morning after Holtz was arrested.

According to court documents and court proceedings, Holtz worked for JMS Ventures, Inc. (JMS), which does business as the Kenyan Collection, is a small business that imports and distributes handmade Kenyan goods.  Between 2008 and 2013, Holtz allegedly fraudulently diverted funds from JMS, by writing herself unauthorized checks from the JMS bank account and using PayPal to transfer customer payments directly to her personal bank account.  The indictment further alleges that Holtz defrauded JMS’s customers by using their personal identifying information, including names and credit card numbers, to make fraudulent charges to their credit cards.  Holtz is alleged to have obtained at least $350,000 from the fraud scheme.  Holtz is alleged to have filed false federal individual income tax returns for tax years 2010 through 2013, which failed to report all the income that Holtz received in those years.  In an attempt to conceal the fraud, Holtz also allegedly altered and destroyed records, including evidence of the fraud.

Holtz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, three years in prison for each count of filing false returns and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft, if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.