Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. today sentenced Melissa Hayes (36, Tampa) to 27 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit theft of government property and identity theft. She pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2016.
According to court documents, Hayes conspired with others to commit stolen identity refund fraud by depositing U.S. Treasury checks in the names of others into a business bank account that had been established for her restaurant/food business. She then withdrew the funds the same day or the following day, spent the money on point-of-purchase items, or transferred the money to her personal bank account. The Treasury checks were fraudulently endorsed with the name of the intended recipient (the victim) and the name of Hayes’s business prior to being deposited. Four of the persons named on these Treasury checks were deceased.
Between January and June 2012, Hayes deposited 22 fraudulent government and tax refund checks, totaling over $160,000, into her business bank account. She used these fraudulently obtained funds for personal use and shared them with her co-conspirators.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
