Former islander sued
over alleged tax fraudShe got a $2 million refund by
claiming to be a Hawaiian heiress
The government is suing a Philadelphia-area cafeteria worker who recently received a $2.1 million tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service by claiming to be Hawaiian heiress Abigail K. Kawananakoa.
The IRS mistakenly sent Abigail Roberts, 61, and her husband the refund last month.
Abigail Kawananakoa: Her Social Security number was appropriated by the suspect
James Wright, an attorney for 78-year-old Kawananakoa, said, "There is no comment at this time in deference to law enforcement authorities."
Kawananakoa, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty and one of the heirs to the Campbell Estate, also declined comment through Wright.
The IRS quickly discovered its mistake and swooped in on Roberts, confiscating a 2003 Ford Explorer she purchased with the refund.
Roberts used Kawananakoa's Social Security number to recover money the heiress paid the IRS in estimated income taxes.
"An erroneous refund of this magnitude is a rare occurrence," IRS spokesman Bill Cressman told the Philadelphia Daily News.
The IRS also seized $100,000 that the Roberts sent to their son, Brennen, 36, of Ewa Beach. The News reported the IRS froze his bank account just as he was about to purchase a Cadillac Escalade for $59,000 and a sport utility vehicle for an additional $9,000.
"They're saying I'm not who I say I am," said Roberts, who lives with her husband in a modest home in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester. "I am the last heir. The only regret that I have is that no one believes I am telling the truth."
This is not the first time Roberts has claimed to be Kawananakoa. In 1999, Roberts was charged in Philadelphia with stealing $34,360 from the federal government by claiming to be Kawananakoa and the lawful heir to Kamehameha Schools. She was indicted on six counts of mail fraud, 11 counts of money laundering and one count of making a false statement.
According to that indictment, Roberts applied for a Social Security card under Kawananakoa's name in 1994 and then filed for refunds between 1994 and 1999. She was acquitted in 2001.
U.S. District Judge William Yohn Jr. ruled that there was not enough evidence to show Roberts had an intent to commit a crime, but he also warned her that she had no legal right to the proceeds of the estate, according to court documents.
The fact that Roberts -- born in Hawaii as Charlotte Veronica Kuheana -- was initially successful in obtaining another refund is embarrassing to the IRS since court records show the agency was supposedly investigating her at the time she filed for and received the latest refund.
Roberts used Kawananakoa's Social Security number on a joint tax return she and her husband, James K. Roberts, 64, filed on March 8. Their return sought an earned income credit of $371 on income of $4,715. But because Kawananakoa's Social Security number was on the return, the IRS processed a refund check for $2,123,453, based on the advance estimated tax payments that Kawananakoa or the estate paid to the IRS, an agent stated in court records.
Suspicions over Roberts' multimillion-dollar deposit caused Wachovia Bank to alert the IRS on March 24, and her accounts were frozen.
Star-Bulletin reporter Sally Apgar and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
