$4.4M Bogus Tax Refund Scheme Sends Bowie Man to Prison

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BOWIE, MD – A Bowie man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for his role in a far-reaching identity theft and tax fraud scheme in which he helped file fraudulent federal income tax returns seeking more than $4.4 million in refunds, announced federal prosecutors.

Marc A. Bell, 49, a former employee of the District of Columbia’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, pleaded guilty in January to taking part in an identity theft and false tax return scheme that involved a network of more than 130 people, many of whom were receiving public assistance, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

According to court documents, the scheme involved the filing of at least 12,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns that sought refunds of at least $42 million from the U.S. Treasury. The false tax returns were often filed in the names of people whose identities had been stolen, including the elderly, people in assisted living facilities, drug addicts and incarcerated individuals.

According to court documents, Bell's jobs at the District of Columbia’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services gave him access to the agency’s database system, which contained the personal identifying information of youths served by the agency, including their names and social security numbers.

Bell admitted that over nearly three years, he obtained the personal information of at least 645 youths, which was then used to file at least 1,160 fraudulent federal income tax returns that claimed refunds of about $4.4 million. The IRS issued about 700 checks totaling about $2.4 million in the names of the victims; Bell received financial compensation from co-conspirators for providing the stolen identities.

Bell pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, one count of aiding and abetting in the filing of fictitious or false claims and one count aiding and abetting fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents.

Bell must also serve three years of supervised release once he is released from prison and pay $1.9 million in restitution to the IRS.