United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew M. Luger today announced the guilty plea of MUHAMMED FATTY, 41, to multiple charges related to tax refund fraud and fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship. On June 15, 2016, FATTY pleaded guilty before Judge Donovan W. Frank to one count of unlawful procurement of naturalization and one count of making false claims in relation to tax refunds.
“Investigating refund fraud is a top priority for IRS Criminal Investigation," said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Shea Jones of the St. Paul Field Office. “Filing false tax returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers. Law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office are serious about investigating these crimes and holding accountable those who defraud the government and taxpayers."
According to documents filed in court, law enforcement became aware of the defendant’s scheme when U.S. Department of State consular officials identified a visa applicant using the same name as an individual already in the U.S., who had previously naturalized in 2013.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, in January 2015, FATTY devised a scheme in which he prepared and electronically filed a false tax return using the name and social security number of another person and knowingly made and presented to the Internal Revenue Service a claim for refund in the amount of $9,332. From 2006 until 2015, the defendant falsely used the name and Social Security number of another person and fraudulently claimed and received tax refunds from the United States in the amount of $46,109. In addition, as of May 2016, under the defendant’s true name and Social Security number, the defendant owed the Internal Revenue Service $7,407 in back taxes and fees.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, FATTY attempted to obtain medical assistance by fraudulently using the name and social security number of another person. FATTY has fraudulently received approximately $7,857 in benefits, involving premiums paid by the State of Minnesota.
This guilty plea resulted from an investigation by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Special Assistant United States Attorney Ryan R. Wood is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
MUHAMMED FATTY, 41
Little Canada, Minn.
Convicted:
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Unlawful procurement of naturalization, 1 count
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Making a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim, 1 count
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
