Kansas City woman sentenced to prison for two financial fraud schemes

A federal court sentenced a Kansas City woman to nearly four years in federal prison following her involvement in two separate financial fraud schemes.

Bianca Cobbins, 43, pleaded guilty to making false statements to a financial institution and aiding in the preparation of false tax returns in 2025.

She was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison and a subsequent four years of supervised release, according to a Tuesday announcement. She is also ordered to repay the victims of these schemes in full.

In December 2019, Cobbins worked with Quanisha Capelton to obtain a fraudulent driver’s license using Capelton’s photo and another individual’s personal information.

Cobbins and Capelton used the license to apply for a checking account at a financial institution. She then added false paystubs to the checking account, which were used with the false license to apply for loans at various financial institutions and consumer loan companies.

The intended loss of the fraudulent scheme was $36,128.32. Her partner, Capelton, was previously convicted of and sentenced to prison for use of the other individual’s personal information.

Between 2018 and 2023, Cobbins prepared at least 60 false federal tax returns in a separate scheme. She owned a tax preparation business in Kansas City and often attached fraudulent forms to her clients’ tax returns that claimed false business profits or losses, which inflated their refunds.

The fraudulent tax returns resulted in a loss of $312,656.