Former SSA Employee From Hiram Sentenced in Income Tax Fraud Scheme

Editor's Note: One or more names in this report have been redacted in light of additional documentation provided regarding this case.

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Nine men, including one from Hiram, have been sentenced for their roles in a $5 million fraudulent income tax scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta announced Wednesday.

Ronald Bennett, 30, of Hiram, was convicted of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000.

Prosecutors said Bennett was part of a scheme that used stolen personal information from more than 1,000 victims to electronically file fraudulent income tax returns from January 2011 to March 2012. The IRS intercepted many of the fraudulent returns, but more than $2 million in refunds were still sent to the defendants.

Shawn Brown, 38, of Atlanta, allegedly organized the scheme and recruited accomplices, including Bennett. Brown was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 13 years, 4 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,230,021.

Bennett, then an employee of the United States Social Security Administration in Jacksonville, Fla., was recruited to access SSA computer data to steal identities. Brown also recruited Christopher Edwards, 44, of Eutaw, Ala., then an employee of an Alpharetta asset recovery company, to steal identities from a computer database he accessed through his employer.

The stolen identities were used to electronically file fraudulent income tax returns.

“Those who file false tax refund claims using stolen identities threaten the integrity of our federal income tax system and pose a real danger to the credit history and financial security of the individuals whose identities are stolen,” Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn in a news release. “Schemes where stolen identities are used to obtain false tax refunds are unfortunately become more common and we are dedicating increased resources to reverse this trend.”

Others pleading guilty and sentenced, according to the news release:

· Maurice Pollock, 33, of Mableton, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sentenced to serve 5 years, 10 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $888,697.

· Marcus Behling, 31, of Powder Springs, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. On March 11, 2015, Sentenced to serve 3 years, 3 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $698,249.66.

· Jonathan Stubbs, 32, of Mableton, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sentenced to serve 6 years, 1 month in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $659,599.94.

· Nyron Nelson, 40, of Roswell, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentenced to serve 3 years, 1 month in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $98,671.

· Kelly Lonas, 40, of Roswell was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentenced to serve 2 years, 5 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $98,671.

· (name removed)