Final Defendant Sentenced In Camden County Tax Refund Fraud Scheme: Feds

CLEMENTON, NJ — A Camden County woman was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after being convicted in a scheme to steal money from the U.S. Treasury, federal officials said.

Clementon resident Awilda Henriquez was convicted last December of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and steal United States mail, 13 counts of theft of government money, and 13 counts of aggravated identity theft according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Henriquez, 36, was one of four people indicted in connection with an extensive scheme involving fraudulently obtained refund checks issued by the U.S. Treasury. She is the last to be sentenced and received the most prison time of the four defendants, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler sentenced Henriquez to 159 months in prison on Monday in Camden federal court, Sellinger said.

Officials said she and the other defendants filed around 3,300 false Stolen Identity Refund Fraud tax returns in 2013. The defendants used the names and Social Security numbers of Puerto Rico residents and had refunds mailed to a small section of Pennsauken, Sellinger said.

Jorge Gutierrez of Merchantville, Roque Bisono of Maple Shade, and Alberto Sanchez of Camden were also indicted in the scheme, and all three have been sentenced according to officials and court records.

Henriquez and the three other defendants recruited U.S. Postal Service carriers to steal tax refund checks from the mail, officials charged. The mail carriers were paid for every stolen check, Selligner's office said.

The defendants recruited "check couriers" to cash the tax refund checks, and Henriquez paid bank tellers to participate in the scheme, Sellinger said.

"The check couriers presented fraudulent identifications at the check cashing businesses matching the names on the tax refund checks in order to cash the checks, which the tellers cashed because they were paid by Henriquez to do so," Sellinger said in a news release. "In total, the scheme caused $565,091 in losses to the U.S. Treasury."

Judge Kugler also sentenced Henriquez to three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay a restitution of $565,091, according to Sellinger's office.

Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a common type of fraud committed against the United States government that involves the use of stolen identities to commit tax refund fraud, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.