Broward County Resident Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Stolen Identity Tax Fraud Scheme

A Broward County resident was sentenced to 36 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

Clifford Blain, 28, was previously convicted of one count of uttering a forged United States Treasury check, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 510(a)(2), one count of bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

According to evidence presented at trial, Blain deposited a United States Treasury check containing a forged endorsement and signature of another individual into a bank account he controlled. An image of the defendant making the deposit was captured by ATM cameras and introduced during the trial proceedings.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Killinger.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.