Miami Dade College Student Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Scheme Involving Student Financial Services Accounts

Friday, April 24th, 2015 @ 9:35PM

U.S. Attorney’s Office April 13, 2015 • Southern District of Florida (313) 226-9100

A Miami Dade College student was sentenced to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $29,289, for his participation in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme involving student financial services accounts.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Smith Jean, 23, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and one count of theft of government property or money.

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Posted by Robert Strait
Categories: Online articles, Uncategorized

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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