Leader Of Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme Sentenced To Five Years In Prison

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Leurys Antonio Olivo, 29, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to defraud the government and aggravated identity theft.  Olivo also was ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Treasury in the amount of $42,175.28.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States 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 sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Olivo pleaded guiltyon Nov. 21, 2013.  According to court documents, Olivo, who is an illegal alien and a citizen of the Dominican Republic, organized and led a stolen identity refund fraud scheme from his base of operations in the Bronx.  He obtained stolen names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of real people from sources in Puerto Rico.  Olivo then caused others to file fraudulent tax returns on behalf of the identity theft victims, and caused the IRS to mail refund checks to addresses under his or his co-conspirators’ control.

Olivo sought to expand his scheme into the Eastern District of Virginia, and as part of that effort, he sold two fraudulently obtained refund checks to an undercover agent in Woodbridge, Va.  Olivo also recruited a co-conspirator, Juan-Alexis Lima-Castillo, to cash fraudulently obtained refund checks for him in Virginia.  Lima-Castillo previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to two months in prison.

In total, Olivo caused the IRS to issue at least $351,934.28 in refund checks.  The IRS was able to stop payment on a majority of the checks before they were cashed, thereby limiting actual losses to the U.S. Treasury to $42,175.28.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Kosta S. Stojilkovic prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.