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April 25, 2014

5 indicted on tax fraud, ID theft charges

April 28, 2014 – Five men charged with carrying out a wire fraud scheme that utilized accounts in unsuspecting banks and credit unions and cost the IRS $10 million in fraudulent charges were indicted on April 23 by a grand jury in Pennsylvania, according to reports.

CUinfosecurity.com and Pittsburgh Business Times reported that falsified and stolen driver's licenses, credit cards and Social Security cards were used to open accounts in nine banks and credit unions. False tax refunds were later deposited into those accounts.

The U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania in the CUinfosecurity.com article said the men are accused of electronically filing approximately 2,400 fraudulent tax returns seeking $21 million in refunds. Charges also include aggravated identity theft.

All five men who were indicted face prison time if convicted and are subject to a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of loss to the victims, the article stated.