U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Tampa Man Pleads Guilty To Theft And Identity Theft For Selling Stolen Tax Refund Checks
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Giday Kidane (34, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the theft count and a mandatory consecutive term of two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft count.
According to the , between November 2016 and January 2017, Kidane, posing as “Anwar,” sold and offered to sell stolen U.S. Treasury checks to a Confidential Informant (CI) in exchange for half of the face value in cash. On one occasion, Kidane presented the CI with two stolen U.S. Treasury checks for sale: one for $4,583, and a second check for $20,679. The pair agreed that the CI would pay Kidane $7,200 for both checks, plus an additional amount after the larger check had been successfully deposited.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Eric Gerard.
Updated May 18, 2017
Topics
Financial Fraud
Identity Theft
StopFraud
Tax
Component