The St. Joseph Police Department has identified the body of a man found in Corby Pond Tuesday.

According to Detective Capt. Dave Hart the body has been identified as 62-year-old Eddie Dewayne Wise of St. Joseph

Police responded Tuesday just after 1 p.m. to Corby Pond located off the Parkway just before the 22nd street bridge.  Two kids had snagged pieces of clothing while fishing.  When officers got there a short time later they found a body in the pond.  Corby Pond was quickly closed off to visitors and the Parkway closed off in both directions in the area while detectives investigated the scene.

Detectives have also been investigating a home located in the 3500 block of Sacramento in connection with the body found but have not said why.

Police are asking the public’s assistance in providing information about Wise.

Anyone with information about Wise especially over the last week is asked to contact the detective division at 816-271-5336.

A Cameron, Mo. woman is among 13 defendants who have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to receive more than $340,000 in fraudulent income tax refunds.

Cherie Christine Dupuis, 42, Claudia Dorsey, 33, Travis L. Ashmead, 29, Amanda Leigh Boyd, 32, Johnny L. Cooper, 25, Lisa Lorre Dehaven, 34, and Jeannie Marie Rhodes, 33, all of Springfield; Shawna Marie Hughey, 36, of Joplin, Mo.; Delbert L. Allen, 36, of Pleasant Hope, Mo.; William Joseph Coonce, 28, of Otterville, Mo.; Asia Michelle Couchman, 26, of Oak Grove, Mo.; Heather Nicole Drennen, 31, of Cameron, Mo.; and Jeannette R. Dunn, 47, of Huntsville, Ark., were charged in a 30-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

The federal indictment alleges that 12 of the 13 defendants participated in a conspiracy to defraud the government by filing false claims for income tax refunds from February 2009 to March 2012, and all of the defendants filed false claims for income tax refunds, which resulted in them receiving a total of $340,630 in fraudulent refunds.

According to the indictment, conspirators obtained the identification information of individuals, including their names and Social Security numbers, and used that information to file federal income tax returns that included fictitious employment information and reported wages that had not been earned and employment taxes that had not been withheld. Conspirators allegedly shared employer information for the purpose of creating fictitious W-2 forms. They also shared dependent information, the indictment says, to enable them to falsely claim dependents on their returns.

According to the indictment, Dupuis received a $5,135 refund in 2009, a $9,174 refund in 2010, a $9,437 refund in 2011 and a $10,507 refund in 2012. All of these refunds were fraudulent, the indictment says, because they claimed employment income and withholdings that were false. Other conspirators received fraudulent refunds of similar or larger amounts, the indictment says, then gave Dupuis as much as half of their illegal proceeds.

Dorsey allegedly made false claims by filing fraudulent income tax returns for herself and two others. Dorsey also allegedly allowed Dupuis to use her laptop computer to file false federal income tax returns and allegedly allowed Dupuis to list her mailing address on false federal income tax returns filed by the defendants. Conspirators allegedly provided false and misleading statements to law enforcement officers when they were questioned about their roles and actions in the conspiracy.

Drennen is charged in a single count of making a false claim by filing a fraudulent income tax return in the name of another person, claiming a refund to which she was not entitled. In addition to the conspiracy, each of the other defendants is charged in various counts of making false claims by filing fraudulent income tax returns.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

St. Joseph, Mo. —Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western State University’s president, has appointed Dr. Regan Dodd as Missouri Western’s faculty athletics representative. Dr. Dodd, assistant professor of health, physical education and recreation, will succeed Dr. Brenda Blessing following the annual Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) conference in June.

“The faculty athletics representative serves a vital role in ensuring the academic integrity of our athletic program and the welfare of our student-athletes,” Dr. Vartabedian said. “I am grateful to Dr. Blessing for filling that role so ably for many years, and I’m certain that Dr. Dodd will continue in her tradition.”

The faculty athletics representative is a position required by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to serve as a liaison between the university and the Department of Athletics. At Missouri Western, the representative serves on all search committees for head coaches and athletic administrative positions, works with the registrar to monitor the eligibility of student-athletes, and in the president’s absence represents Missouri Western at NCAA and MIAA meetings, among other duties.

Dr. Dodd has been a faculty member at Missouri Western since 2012, and previously served as an instructor of physical education and head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Baker University and a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Kansas. She earned a Ph.D. in health education from the University of Kansas, a Master of Business Administration from Baker University, a Master of Science in Education and a Bachelor of Science from Northwest Missouri State University, and an associate’s degree from Johnson County Community College.

Dr. Blessing, professor and chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, has been faculty athletics representative since 2000, and has served as vice president and president of the MIAA and as a member of the NCAA Division II Membership Committee. She earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Indiana State University and a Ph.D in Recreation from The Ohio State University. Dr. Blessing has been a member of Missouri Western’s faculty since 1987.

The St. Joseph Police Department continues to investigate a home on Sacramento Street in connection with a body that was found Tuesday in Corby Pond.

Officers were still stationed to monitor a home located at 3509 Sacramento at 11:30 Wednesday and police tape encircles the premises.  According to Capt. Jeff Wilson the home was searched Tuesday night in connection with the body of a man found earlier that day in Corby Pond.

Emily Hendricks lives across the street from the house and told the St. Joseph Post police knocked on her door asking questions about the homeowner Tuesday around 3:30 p.m.

Authorities pulled the body of a white man they believed to be in his mid-40s from Corby Pond just after 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Hendricks said the man who owned the house across from hers looked like he was in his 60s.

“I don’t even know his name,” she said. “My husband and I have lived here for almost three years and we’ve maybe seen him a handful of times.”

Hendricks said the man seemed like a nice older guy but doesn’t think he lived at the location.

“Other neighbors have said that they know that he may own another property that he actually resides at but he’s always fixing this one up,” she said.

Detectives have been seen carrying out garbage bags full of unknown items during the investigation.

Police are expected to make a statement Wednesday to identify the man pulled from Corby Pond.

The St. Joseph Police is warning residents not to burn Wednesday due to weather conditions expected this afternoon.

In a Nixle Alert sent out at 10:44 the department said “Due to expected high winds today, there will be no open burning.  This includes permitted fires.”

The National Weather Service expects gusty south winds today of up to 35 MPH and very dry surface fuels which will lead to elevated fire weather concerns this afternoon.  It warns that any unattended fires may quickly get out of control.

Open burning season in St. Joseph for Spring of 2015 has been approved for Monday, April 6 through Sunday, April 26 weather permitting.

(Update 1:15 p.m.) The Chillicothe Police Department said it is searching for a man in connection with enticing a child online.

According to the department it began Monday investigating a 41-year-old South Dakota man who was communicating with an 11-year-old Chillicothe girl over social media.

The investigation began when the child’s mother discovered her daughter was using an electronic device to talk to the man.

Police said the man provided porn and enticed the girl to engage in inappropriate conversation.

The Chillicothe Police Department said it is working closely with the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team on this investigation along with authorities in South Dakota and is in the process of obtaining the necessary information to forward the investigation on to authorities in South Dakota.

A suspect has been identified and the investigation is continuing.

The department also offers tips to families on controlling incidents similar to this one.