FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Alabama State Employee Sentenced to Prison for Stolen Identity Refund Fraud
Chequlia Motley of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced yesterday to serve 36 months in prison for conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr. Motley pleaded guilty to those charges in May 2013.
According to Motley’s plea agreement, she was a former state employee who stole identities from state databases and sold them to co-conspirators. As evidence presented at the sentencing hearing showed, Motley had previously worked for the Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board and stole the personal information of over 100 state workers and their family members from the databases maintained by the board. She provided this information to Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses and Barbara Murry, who used the stolen identities to file false tax returns that fraudulently requested tax refunds from the IRS. Temple, Moses and Murry were previously convicted and each sentenced in February to 57 months in prison.
In addition to the prison sentence, Motley was ordered to pay $179,946 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The case was investigated by agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler and Jason Poole of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama and, in particular, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown.
Showing posts with label IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD. Show all posts
Friday, August 23, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
USPS MAIL CARRIER CONVICTED IN STOLENT IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD CONSPIRACY
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, July 5, 2013
U.S.Postal Service Mail Carrier Convicted for Involvement with Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Conspiracy
On July 3, 2013, a jury found Vernon Harrison, of Montgomery, Ala., guilty of one count of conspiring to file false claims, eight counts of mail fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and six counts of embezzlement from the U.S. mail, the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), announced today.
According to the evidence presented at the trial, Harrison was a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who was part of a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy used stolen identities to file false tax returns from various locations, including houses and hotels around Birmingham, Ala. and Montgomery. They then had the fraudulently obtained tax refunds generated by those returns sent to debit cards which were subsequently mailed to addresses on Harrison’s postal route in Montgomery. In exchange for cash, Harrison stole the debit cards from the mail and provided them to a co-conspirator. Harrison stole, at a minimum, over 100 debit cards from the mail for his co-conspirators.
As was shown at trial, federal agents uncovered substantial evidence of the conspiracy during the execution of search warrants at locations in Montgomery and near Birmingham, including over a hundred envelopes for debit cards that had been mailed to addresses on Harrison’s postal route. Soon after, agents also conducted surveillance on Harrison and observed him failing to deliver Turbo Tax cards that were in the mail.
Harrison faces up to 10 years in prison for the conspiracy count, 20 years for each mail fraud count, five years for each mail embezzlement count, and a mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts. In total, Harrison could be sentenced to up to 216 years in prison. Harrison also could be subject to fines, forfeiture, and mandatory restitution.
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Tax Division, commended the efforts of special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Service, OIG, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler, who prosecuted the case.
Friday, July 5, 2013
U.S.Postal Service Mail Carrier Convicted for Involvement with Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Conspiracy
On July 3, 2013, a jury found Vernon Harrison, of Montgomery, Ala., guilty of one count of conspiring to file false claims, eight counts of mail fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and six counts of embezzlement from the U.S. mail, the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), announced today.
According to the evidence presented at the trial, Harrison was a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who was part of a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy used stolen identities to file false tax returns from various locations, including houses and hotels around Birmingham, Ala. and Montgomery. They then had the fraudulently obtained tax refunds generated by those returns sent to debit cards which were subsequently mailed to addresses on Harrison’s postal route in Montgomery. In exchange for cash, Harrison stole the debit cards from the mail and provided them to a co-conspirator. Harrison stole, at a minimum, over 100 debit cards from the mail for his co-conspirators.
As was shown at trial, federal agents uncovered substantial evidence of the conspiracy during the execution of search warrants at locations in Montgomery and near Birmingham, including over a hundred envelopes for debit cards that had been mailed to addresses on Harrison’s postal route. Soon after, agents also conducted surveillance on Harrison and observed him failing to deliver Turbo Tax cards that were in the mail.
Harrison faces up to 10 years in prison for the conspiracy count, 20 years for each mail fraud count, five years for each mail embezzlement count, and a mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts. In total, Harrison could be sentenced to up to 216 years in prison. Harrison also could be subject to fines, forfeiture, and mandatory restitution.
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Tax Division, commended the efforts of special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Service, OIG, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler, who prosecuted the case.
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