Jury Convicts Norfolk Man of Tax Fraud Scheme

NORFOLK, Va. – Ronald Chisholm, 53, of Norfolk, was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud the IRS.

Chisholm originally pleaded guilty on Oct. 6, 2014, and later withdrew his plea.  According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Chisholm’s scheme was discovered in 2013 after a local check cashing business noticed one of its employees had cashed over $2 million in U.S. Treasury checks.  The employee of the check cashing business identified Ronald Chisholm as the person who paid her $200 per check to cash the treasury checks in violation of the company’s policies.  A subsequent IRS investigation determined that Chisholm, along with unidentified co-conspirators, stole the personal identifying information of numerous people and filed at least 810 fraudulent income tax returns.  As a result of these false returns, Chisholm and his co-conspirators received a total of $2.6 million in fraudulent income tax refunds.

Chisholm faces a maximum penalty of 128 years in prison when sentenced on Nov. 9, 2015.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after the verdicts were accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:14-cr-132.

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