Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Corey A. Coley, Sr. and Albert E. Moore, Jr. with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. Coley is a Probation Officer for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. If convicted on all counts, Coley and Moore each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
According to the criminal complaint, Coley and Moore engaged in a scheme to defraud the government by submitting fraudulent tax returns and using the resulting tax refunds for their own benefit and the benefit of others. Coley allegedly obtained the identities used in the scheme from Florida Department of Juvenile Justice records.
“I am outraged by the allegations of this blatant betrayal of trust, and I want to send a clear message that this type of behavior absolutely will not be tolerated; by close of business today, the employee in question will be terminated," said Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Wansley Walters. “There are a number of policies in place regarding access to sensitive youth information, and I hold DJJ employees to standards of excellence. Taking advantage of those who’ve entered the juvenile justice system is shameful. I want to assure the victims, their families and public that we are reevaluating current policies and procedures related to youth information and we are committed to promptly addressing any vulnerabilities discovered through that process. As always, we will work with federal, state and local authorities to ensure that anyone that betrays the public trust will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
