Washington, D.C. - United States Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, Jr. and Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory R. Szczeszek, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced that Mark T. Purvis, age 48, of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Md., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to 32 months in prison, restitution of $22,434.35 to the Internal Revenue Service, and a 3-year term of supervised release, for filing a filing a false claim with the government seeking a federal tax refund. Purvis pled guilty in October 2002.

Evidence established that Purvis engaged in a systematic scheme to defraud the United States Treasury Department, for the tax years 1992 through 1997, by filing 26 false claims for federal income tax refunds totaling $92,345 that were not, in fact, owed to him. Nine of the 26 refunds totaling $22,434.35 were actually paid out to Purvis. The defendant used a variety of false information to obtain the refunds. In a number of instances he misrepresented his own earnings and withholdings; other times he used other persons' names and/or social security numbers to falsely file for refunds which he sought to have mailed to his own addresses. None of the individuals whose names or social security numbers were used in the scheme was aware of the defendant's filings. The defendant was able to obtain the social security numbers or additional personal information of others through misuse of information which came into his possession at his places of employment, his residences, or through stolen mail matter.

In announcing the sentence, United States Attorney Howard and Acting Special Agent in Charge Szczeszek praised the work of Special Agent Michael O'Hanlon of the Internal Revenue Service who investigated the case. Mr. Howard and Special Agent in Charge Szczeszek also commended Legal Assistants Teesha Tobias and Derrieal Davis who provided litigation support services on the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. Burke, Jr., who indicted the case and Assistant United States Attorney Peggy Ellen of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, who prosecuted it.