TRENTON, N.J. -- Babe Ruth's nephew was convicted Friday of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service of about $360,000 by filing false income tax returns.
George Herman Ruth, 54, of Indianapolis, Ind., and William Robert Pilkey, 63, of Killeen, Texas, were convicted by a federal jury on one count of conspiracy to file false claims and 60 counts of filing false claims.
During a three-week trial, prosecutors said the pair operated their scheme from January 2003 to December 2004 while they were inmates at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution.
Ruth had been serving a 33-month sentence for mail fraud. Pilkey was serving 10 years for a drug conviction.
They were charged with filling 178 false individual income tax returns that contained fraudulent claims for refunds.
Prosecutors said the pair used their own names and names of others, including fellow inmates and former inmates, to file false returns for tax years 2000 through 2003. They mailed the returns to third parties, who then mailed them to various IRS service centers.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 2.
