Ypsilanti Man Sentenced For Role In Scheme To File False Tax Returns Using Stolen Identities

An Ypsilanti man was sentenced yesterday for his involvement in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, announced United States Attorney Barbara L McQuade.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Jarod J. Koopman, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

Receiving the sentence from U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain was Antonio R. Lundy, 43.  Lundy pleaded guilty before Judge Drain in December 2014.   Judge Drain sentenced Lundy to 18 months in prison and three years’ supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $251,900.

According to court records, Lundy participated in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service through the filing of numerous income tax returns in the names of individuals whose personal identification information (PII) had been either obtained with their consent or obtained illegally.  From September 2011 through April 2012, Lundy provided the home addresses and PII of individuals to others members of the scheme.  The information provided by Lundy was used to prepare and file fraudulent federal income tax returns, which requested refunds based on reported tax withholdings that were false.  The refunds were loaded onto Turbo Tax Visa debit cards and mailed to the home addresses provided by Lundy.  Lundy used the debit cards to withdraw cash at ATMs, and his cash withdrawals totaled $251,900.  Overall, the scheme involved approximately 180 fraudulent returns that requested approximately $1.7 million in refunds.

“IRS-CI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat identity theft.  Investigating and prosecuting identity thieves who attempt to defraud the government by filing fraudulent income tax returns remains a top priority for the IRS,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Koopman.

The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hiyama.