Co-conspirator of Montgomery fraud convict found guilty of defrauding IRS

The co-conspirator of a Montgomery man who was convicted in 2024 of a fraud scheme has been found guilty by a jury of her role. 

According to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson, Queen Naja, 44, of York, PA, also known as Renata Winifred Ince and Naja Talibah Zahir, was found guilty of mail fraud involving the IRS. 

The announcement states that Naja contacted Quentin Diego Sturgeon, 42, of Montgomery on a social media platform with plans to illegally obtain money from the IRS by creating a legal trust to file false documents and trigger payments that they were not entitled to. 

"Testimony at trial detailed the coordinated efforts of the two co-conspirators," said the announcement. "First, Sturgeon, as directed by Naja, created a trust naming himself as trustee. The two then submitted multiple fraudulent documents to the IRS falsely reporting tax payments from the trust."

"Naja also submitted a payment voucher accompanied by a bogus check. Once that was done, Sturgeon filed paperwork claiming the trust had made an overpayment and requested a refund. As a result of these combined false submissions, the IRS issued a U.S. Treasury check for $1,010,561.26."

Sturgeon reportedly pleaded guilty on Nov. 25, 2024. Both face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, "substantial" fines, and an order of restitution.

“This conviction is the result of outstanding cooperation between federal prosecutors, IRS Criminal Investigation, and local law enforcement,” said Davidson. “This verdict should send a clear warning that if you defraud the United States government, you will be held accountable. Our office will continue to protect taxpayer dollars and pursue those who seek to steal from the public treasury.”