LawFuel.com –
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, PATRICIA J. HAYNES, the
Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (“IRSCID”),
JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge
of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (“FBI”), RONALD J. VERROCHIO, the Inspector-in-
Charge of the New York Office of the United States Postal
Inspection Service (“USPIS”), and JAMIE WOODWARD, the Acting
Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and
Finance (“NYSDTF”), announced the unsealing of a four-count
Indictment charging eleven defendants for their roles in a
massive scheme to steal identities of residents of the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and file fraudulent federal and state
tax returns in the names of those people seeking millions of
dollars of tax refunds.
According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan
federal court:
From approximately 2006 through 2008, the defendants
engaged in a scheme to file false and fraudulent federal and
state tax returns seeking tax refunds, using identification
information of residents of Puerto Rico. Residents of the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico typically do not file tax returns
with the IRS because such filing is not required as long as all
of the Puerto Rico resident’s income is derived from sources in
Puerto Rico. By using Social Security numbers assigned to
residents of Puerto Rico, participants in the scheme, among other
things, minimized the risk that a legitimate federal tax return
will already have been filed by the person whose identity has
been stolen. Over the course of the scheme, more than $18
million in fraudulent federal and state tax refunds were sought
from the IRS, NYSDTF, and other state tax authorities.
In order to execute this scheme, the defendants and
their conspirators, among other things:
• obtained Puerto Rican identities, including names,
dates of birth, and Social Security numbers;
• obtained from the IRS numerous Electronic Filer
Identification Numbers (“EFINs”), which gave them
the ability to electronically file federal and
state tax returns;
• filed numerous false and fraudulent federal and
state tax returns using Puerto Rican identities
and seeking federal and state tax refunds;
• rented residences in New York, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania where they received the fraudulently
obtained federal and state tax refund checks in
the mail; and
• via arrangements with various banks, issued refund
anticipation loan checks payable to the Puerto
Rican identities based on the expected value of
the fraudulent federal and state refunds they had
applied for under those identities.
Of the eleven defendants indicted today, eight were
arrested this morning by IRS-CID, FBI agents, and USPIS
inspectors. WENDY JIMENEZ, a/k/a “Giemar Rivera Colon,” and
VIVIANA CASTILLO remain at large. LUIS HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Juan
Ramon Mendez Gonzalez,” a/k/a “Daniel Kulian,” a/k/a “Samuel
Rodriguez,” is already in custody in an unrelated case.
LUIS HERNANDEZ, LUIS EDUARDO PEGUERO, a/k/a “Chico
Swing,” JACKSON RAFAEL LOPEZ HERNANDEZ (“JACKSON LOPEZ”), MELVIN
LOPEZ HERNANDEZ (“MELVIN LOPEZ”), RAYAN ISMAEL LOPEZ (“RAYAN
LOPEZ”), HENRY ROSA, and CLEOPATRA RODRIGUEZ will be presented
and arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge KEVIN
NATHANIEL FOX in Manhattan federal court later today.
LUIS HERNANDEZ, 37, PEGUERO, 31, JACKSON LOPEZ, 22,
MELVIN LOPEZ, 20, RAYAN LOPEZ, 28, HENRY ROSA, 28, CLEOPATRA
RODRIGUEZ, 25, WENDY JIMENEZ, 35, and VIVIANA CASTILLO, 28,
reside in Bronx, New York.
RAFAEL CASTILLO, a/k/a “Rafael A. Guadalupe Lopez,”
a/k/a “Junior,” and JANIRA BUENO will be presented in federal
court in Allentown, Pennsylvania. RAFAEL CASTILLO, 39, and
BUENO, 31, reside in Freemansburg, Pennsylvania.
The case has been assigned to United Stated District
Judge HAROLD BAER, JR.
Each of the defendants are charged in the Indictment
with each of the following counts and face the following
potential maximum penalties, per count:
COUNT CHARGE POTENTIAL PENALTIES
1 Conspiracy to defraud the
government with respect to
claims
Maximum sentence of 10 years in prison;
maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the
gross pecuniary loss or gain derived
from the offense.
2 Conspiracy to commit mail
fraud, wire fraud
Maximum sentence of 20 years in prison;
maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the
gross pecuniary loss or gain derived
from the offense.
3 Conspiracy to commit fraud
in connection with
identification documents
Maximum sentence of 15 years in prison;
maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the
gross pecuniary loss or gain derived
from the offense.
4 Aggravated identity theft Mandatory consecutive 2-year prison
term; maximum fine of $250,000 or twice
the gross pecuniary loss or gain
derived from the offense.
Mr. DASSIN praised the work of the IRS-CID, FBI, USPIS,
and the NYSDTF, and thanked them for their work in this case. He
added that the investigation is continuing.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Major
Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney DANIEL W. LEVY is
in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely
accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty.
09-201 ###
