Sparks Police have arrested a local woman for defrauding tax clients out of refunds.

The Truckee Police Department and Northern Nevada Fraud Task Force have been investigating apparent fraud emanating out of two 2008 tax filings originating at the H&R Block located on Deerfield Dr. in Truckee. The fraud was discovered when two H&R Block clients discovered that their 2008 income taxes had been filed and their respective refunds were issued by way of H&R Block prepaid debit cards, all without their knowledge or consent.

Investigators identified Valerie Crystal Guerrero, 31, an H&R Block employee and a Sparks resident, as a suspect. Police learned that Guerrero used prepaid debit cards to make purchases on two separate occasions without the owners’ consent or knowledge. Guerrero was arrested Feb. 24 by Sparks Police at a 7-Eleven on G Street and booked on burglary, fraudulent use of a credit card, possessing a credit card without the owners consent and receiving property as a result of unlawfully using a credit card.

Clients who may have used the H&R Block branches in Truckee or Reno in the prior year may contact the local IRS office to inquire if a tax return was fraudulently filed on their behalf without their knowledge.