IRS Continues to Make the Investigation of Tax-related Identity Theft a Top Priority

Every year, the Internal Revenue Service compiles a “Dirty Dozen” list of common tax scams. This year, tax-related identity theft has again made its list.

Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security number to file a tax return and claim a fraudulent refund. According to the IRS, while it has made significant strides over the past several years to address this issue, identity theft remains a top concern.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the law enforcement arm of the Internal Revenue Service, helped convict approximately 2,000 identity thieves. Nationally, in fiscal year 2015, the IRS initiated 776 identity theft related investigations, which resulted in 774 sentencings through CI enforcement efforts. The courts continue to impose significant jail time with the average months to serve in fiscal year 2015 at 38 months — the longest sentencing being over 27 years.

A review of court records filed in the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York demonstrates the work being done to combat tax-related identity theft in the New York City – metropolitan area. Sentences are often a mix of prison time, probation and restitution.

· Arjenis Carmona was sentenced to 6 months of location monitoring and 5 years of probation on December 10, 2015 for conspiracy to steal government funds and ordered to forfeit $42,984.

· Etanislao Del Rosario was sentenced to 6 months of home confinement and 6 months of community confinement on September 30, 2015 for conspiracy to exchange and convert U.S. Treasury checks.

· Alpha Diallo was sentenced to 2 years in prison on November 20, 2015 for aggravated identity theft and ordered to pay restitution of $180,467.

· Jennifer Dominguez was sentenced to 3 years of supervised release on January 21, 2016 for theft of public funds and ordered to pay restitution of $72,944.57.

· Ingrid Fernandez was sentenced to 2 years of probation on March 29, 2016 for obstruction of the mail and ordered to pay restitution of $96,039.

· Carlos Figueroa was sentenced to 70 months in prison on November 17, 2015 for theft of government funds and bribery of bank employees and ordered to pay restitution of $2,700,000.

· Emmanuel Gonzalez was sentenced to 42 months in prison on December 15, 2015 for theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft and ordered to pay restitution of $1,333,475.

· Alexander Pena was sentenced to 3 years of probation on February 5, 2016 for theft of public money, property, or records and ordered to pay restitution of $219,552.

· Elix Perez was sentenced to 28 months in prison on December 3, 2015 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft and ordered to pay restitution of $18,311.

· Jonnatan Reyes was sentenced to 2 years of probation on November 20, 2015 for conspiracy to steal government property and sell a postal key.

· Juan Carlos Reyes was sentenced to 5 years of probation on March 18, 2016 for conspiracy to steal public funds.

· Ricardo Isaac Roque was sentenced to 57 months in prison (with credit for time served) on March 30, 2016 for theft of government funds and ordered to pay restitution of $255,799.

· Carolyn Sosa was sentenced to 3 years of supervised release, with 6 months of home detention, on March 17, 2016 for conspiracy to defraud the United States and ordered to pay restitution of $26,218.

· Pavel Soto was sentenced to 5 years of probation on January 19, 2016 for conspiracy to steal government funds and ordered to pay restitution of $42,812.

· Adrian Strynowicz was sentenced to 3 years of probation on January 29, 2016 for theft of government funds and ordered to pay restitution of $53,945.

· Cristina Vicente was sentenced to 3 years of probation, including 3 months of location monitoring, on March 23, 2016 for theft of government funds and ordered to pay restitution of $148,845.

· Gregory Zephirin was sentenced to 40 months in prison on March 14, 2016 for conspirarcy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and ordered to pay restitution of $608,581.

You can learn more about identity theft on the Internal Revenue Service’s website, irs.gov

https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Identity-Protection