Three Indicted in Florida for Using Stolen IDs to File Tax Returns Claiming More Than $6.8 Million in Fraudulent Refunds

A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Feb. 9, which was unsealed today, charging three men in Florida, with conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida.

According to the indictment, from approximately 2008 through January 2015, in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Florida, Israel Tassy, Evens Julien, and Jean Leroy Destine, used stolen IDs, including the personal identifying information of deceased individuals, to file over 2,000 tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claiming more than $6.8 million in fraudulent refunds. The indictment alleges that Tassy, Julien and Destine recruited and paid others to obtain Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) from the IRS, in their names and the names of businesses, and used these EFINs to file the fraudulent returns. The indictment also charges that in approximately February 2011, Julien registered A Tax Financial Services Inc., as a for-profit corporation with the state of Florida, and used it to file fraudulent returns as well.

Julien and Destine were arrested earlier today and Tassy is still being sought.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. It merely alleges that crimes have been committed. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, Tassy, Julien and Destine face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft. In addition, all three defendants face a term of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg thanked special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.