Queens Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Identity Theft

BOSTON – A Queens, N.Y. man pleaded guilty on Oct. 15, 2025 in federal court in Boston to a scheme to steal over $3 million in COVID relief tax credits using the stolen identity of a corporate executive in New Jersey.

Linval Jackson, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud; one count of bank fraud; and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Jan. 28, 2026. Jackson was arrested and charged in July 2024.

Jackson and his co-conspirator Isaiah Aaron Tenryk used a fraudulent driver’s license, as well as the name and Social Security number of a corporate executive in New Jersey, to open a bank account in Boston. Tenryk then deposited an approximately $3 million Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) check payable to the executive’s company into the fraudulent account. ERTC is a refundable tax credit for certain eligible businesses that had employees and were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the check was deposited, Jackson attempted to link the fraudulent account to other bank accounts he controlled to transfer the stolen money.

Tenryk pleaded guilty to bank fraud and identity theft in September 2024 and was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2024.

The charges of bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy each provide for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory two-year sentence in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.