A Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in an identity theft tax fraud scheme involving $418,679.66 in fraudulent refunds.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Neil Melofchik, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.
Junior St. Fleurose, 29, of Miami, previously pled guilty to five counts of theft of government funds.
According to court documents, from January 2010 through July 2011, St. Fleurose received forty-three (43) Treasury tax refund checks and wire deposits into his personal and business bank accounts that were in other people's names. Some of the tax refund checks and wires were from fraudulently filed tax returns without the knowledge of the taxpayer. Others were Treasury checks stolen from individuals who filed a legitimate tax return. The defendant converted $325,432.02 in tax refunds for his and someone else's use at various vendors in the South Florida area. St. Fleurose also received twenty-six (26) tax Refund Anticipation Loan checks into his bank accounts totaling $89,440.64.
The total amount of loss is $418,679.66.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the USSS, IRS-CI, and USPIS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilham A. Hosseini.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
