El Cerrito Man Sentenced To Federal Prison

SAN FRANCISCO – El Cerrito resident Brandon Robinson was sentenced Tuesday to four and a half years in prison for aggravated identity theft and conspiring to steal government funds, according to U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White.

Court documents show that from August 2013 through April 2015, Robinson, 35, and his co-conspirators, stole names of deceased individuals and used them to file federal tax returns seeking refunds.

Robinson paid cashiers at stores in the Richmond-area to cash the fraudulently obtained refund checks.

Robinson also cashed stolen tax refund and social security benefit checks that were intended for other individuals. He admitted that he and his co-conspirators attempted to cash more than $500,000 in fraudulently obtained and stolen checks.

In addition to prison time, Judge White also ordered Robinson to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $30,111.90 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

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