They say only two things in life are absolutely certain: death and taxes. Attempting to avoid the latter yielded difficult life lessons for a former investment advisor booked for wire fraud and tax evasion. You know you’re in trouble when cheating death seems like the better option.

No happy holiday came for Donna J. Tucker of Roanoke, Virginia, in December of 2014. The former investment advisor pled guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion, was promptly sentenced to 60 months in jail, and was slapped with a $976,485 restitution fee.

Between 2007 and 2013, Tucker was caught stealing funds from two separate client accounts. First, to obtain a line of credit, she forged the signatures to access an elderly couple’s joint investment account. Through her firm’s banking division, Tucker claimed to be working in the clients’ interest; though, she obtained no consent from her victims. Shortly after, Tucker wire transferred $295,000 from another victim’s account to her own. She then used the funds for her own financial gains. But the plot thickens.

In order to prevent fraudulent schemes from coming to light, Tucker took calculated measures to ensure her victims were unaware of her actions. To keep unauthorized transfers under wraps, Tucker ordered staff to put victims on an electronic delivery system for account statements. She also falsified statements to victims and employees as well as doctored forms to complete the nefarious acts.

As if Tucker weren’t digging a deep enough hole, she finished off her crime spree by reporting a taxable income worth less than half of what she was really making. Tucker’s false report incurred $115,000 in additional taxes owed to the US government! There would be no hiding from the IRS this time!

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