Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Prison for Identity Theft and Conspiring to File Fraudulent Tax Refund Claims

A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced to 22 months in prison today for identity theft and conspiring to file fraudulent tax refund claims, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Interim U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

According to documents and information provided to the court, Steeve Zamor, 28, conspired with others to use stolen IDs to file tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fraudulently seeking tax refunds. Zamor also recruited other individuals to join the scheme. Although he did not have a tax preparation business, Zamor opened up a bank account in the name of “Steeve Zamor Tax Services” to facilitate the crime. Zamor and his co-conspirators directed the IRS to deposit some of the fraudulently obtained refunds into this bank account. Zamor withdrew money from the account to provide to other co-conspirators, and he kept a substantial portion of the illegal proceeds for his own use. He admitted to causing a tax loss of $366,135.53.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge John R. Padova of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered Zamor to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $366,135.53 in restitution to the IRS. 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Interim U.S. Attorney Lappen thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ignall and Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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