Crete Resident Sentenced for Role in Tax Return Scheme

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Jose Feliciano Alvarado-Montoya, 42, of Crete, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 12, 2013, in Lincoln, Nebraska, for his role in a conspiracy to obtain payment of fraudulently obtained federal tax refund checks.  Alvarado-Montoya was sentenced to time served by United States Senior District Judge Richard G. Kopf.  The sentence includes a three-year term of supervised release, and restitution of $4,250 to be paid to the United States.

Alvarado-Montoya was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2012 in connection with a fraudulent tax refund scheme.  Alvarado-Montoya conspired to cash tax refund checks and to obtain payment from the United States knowing the tax refund checks were fraudulently obtained.   Alvarado-Montoya, along with his co-defendant, obtained tax refund checks in the names of various individuals, all with North Carolina addresses.  Alvarado-Montoya allegedly knew the refund checks were from fraudulent income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the returns having been filed using the names of individuals who were not residing in the United States and were not entitled to receive tax refund checks. 

On two occasions, Alvarado-Montoya and his co-defendant went to a store in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the purpose of cashing the tax refund checks.  They provided copies of passports and identification numbers matching the names on the checks and falsely stated they were cashing the checks for family members.  In addition, they offered to pay a 15% fee to cash the refund checks when the normal fee was no more than 3%.  Alvarado-Montoya received and attempted to receive payments from United States Treasury Checks totaling $29,088.93.

“IRS Criminal Investigation has made investigating refund fraud and identity theft a top priority," said Sybil Smith, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation.  "Protecting taxpayer dollars is a matter we take very seriously.”

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.