Two Florida Individuals Indicited for Aggravated Identity Theft in Connection with the Filing of False Tax Returns
Samara Y. Henderson, 25, and Marlow S. Favors, 34, both of Tampa, Florida, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville today in a 9-count indictment charging conspiracy, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Jerry E. Martin, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to the indictment, from approximately March 2011 through January 2012, Henderson and Favors were charged in a conspiracy that devised a scheme to obtain the names and social security numbers of individuals and used the personal identification to file false tax returns in the names of those individuals without their knowledge or permission. The indictment alleges that the tax returns filed in the scheme claimed false and fraudulent refunds which were loaded onto debit cards and mailed to addresses in Tennessee and Florida. Some of the tax returns filed in the scheme listed addresses on Rachel’s Lane in Hermitage, Tennessee, while other tax returns used addresses in Tampa, Florida, or Odessa, Florida, among other places, as the individual’s address.
The indictment also alleges that Henderson and Favors then used the debit cards to pay for personal expenses, such as vehicles and accessories, vehicle repairs, plastic surgery procedures, ATM withdrawals and other personal expenditures.
As part of the indictment, the United States Attorney's Office is seeking a monetary judgment against Henderson and Favors of approximately $1 million, which represents the proceeds of the scheme.
If convicted, Favors and Henderson face the following maximum penalties: for conspiracy, five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count; mail fraud, 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count; for aggravated identity theft, two years in prison, in addition to any other terms of imprisonment imposed on the other counts, and a $250,000 fine for each count.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn B. Ward is representing the United States.
An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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