Brevard County Resident Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Tax Fraud Scheme and Aggravated Identity Theft

Monday, September 30th, 2013 @ 9:34PM

U.S. Attorney’s Office September 23, 2013

ORLANDO, FL—U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell today sentenced Abdul Cunningham (38, Rockledge) to 12 years in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The court also ordered Cunningham to pay restitution in the amount of $560,731.00. As part of his sentence, the court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $560,731.00, the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme.

Cunningham pleaded guilty on June 13, 2013. Co-defendant Jana Harris-Cunningham pleaded guilty on June 24, 2013. Harris-Cunningham is scheduled to be sentenced on October 7, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Presnell.

According to court documents, the defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Treasury Department by filing fraudulent income tax returns and negotiating fraudulent tax refunds using stolen identities, commonly referred to as Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF).

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Posted by cfegov
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What is the Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Problem?

In general, tax-related identity theft occurs when an individual intentionally uses the Social Security number (SSN) of another person to file a false tax return with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized refund. Identity theft wreaks havoc on our tax system in many ways. Victims of identity theft not only must deal with the aftermath of an emotionally draining crime, but may also have to deal with the IRS for years to untangle the resulting tax account problems. Identity theft also impacts the public fisc, as Treasury funds are diverted to pay out improper refunds claimed by opportunistic perpetrators. In addition, identity theft takes a significant toll on the IRS, tying up limited resources that it could otherwise shift to taxpayer service or compliance initiatives