Four Defendants Sentenced In Stolen Identity Tax Refund Scheme Resulting In Millions Of Dollars In Fraudulent Activity

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, announce that defendants Brandon Johnson, 29, of Miami Gardens, Henry Dorvil, a/k/a “D,” 35, of Hollywood, Ronald Gustave, 36, of Miami, and Marie Eleazard, a/k/a “Fanfan,” 32, of Miami were sentenced for their participation in a stolen identity tax refund scheme resulting in millions of dollars in fraudulent activity.

Johnson was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $74,050 in restitution. Dorvil was sentenced on April 17, 2014 to 54 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $2,537,417 in restitution. Gustave was sentenced on April 17, 2014 to 36 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $544,054 in restitution. Eleazard was sentenced on April 9, 2014 to 25 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $1,880,317.94 in restitution. Each of the defendants previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the government, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

Co-defendants Dukens Eleazard, a/k/a “DK,” 33, of Pembroke Pines, Luckner St Fleur, a/k/a “Nene,” 32, of Miami, Jesse Lamar Harrell, 26, of Miramar, Corey Williams, 30, of Miami Gardens, and Ruth Cartwright, a/k/a “Princess,” 30, formerly of Plantation, each previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the government, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 1028A(a)(1). Dukens Eleazard is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2014; St Fleur and Harrell are scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014; Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21, 2014; and Cartwright is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7, 2014.

Co-defendants Herve Wilmore Jr., 29, of Aventura, and Delvin Jean Baptiste, a/k/a “Doo Doo”, 29, of Miramar, were convicted by a federal jury in Miami on March 5, 2014. Sentencing is scheduled for June 12, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola. Specifically, the defendants were convicted of one count of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), commit wire fraud, and commit aggravated identity theft, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; two counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 2; and two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A(a)(1) and 2.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the defendants conspired to unjustly enrich themselves by recruiting knowing co-conspirators and unknowing victims to put businesses, bank accounts and Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) in their names, through which fraudulent transactions would be conducted. To accomplish this, the defendants used the personal identification information of individuals, many deceased, to prepare and file false and fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS. The defendants would obtain possession of fraudulently obtained refunds in the form of United States Treasury and Refund Anticipation Loan checks diverted to addresses or into bank accounts that they caused to be created and controlled. The defendants would then negotiate the fraudulently obtained federal income tax refunds within each other’s businesses, and elsewhere, to avoid being detected.

According to evidence at trial and court documents, Wilmore, Baptiste and their co-conspirators caused the filing of approximately $35 million in fraudulent federal income tax return of which the IRS paid out approximately $14 million. Defendant Wilmore was the president of Worldwide Income Tax Multiservices while Baptiste was the president of Royal Tax Multiservices, both tax preparation services located in Miami.

Co-defendant Marc Leroy Saint Juste, 47, of Tamarac, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the government, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. He was sentenced to two months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.

Co-defendant John Similien, 24, of Plantation, pled guilty on the third day of the eight day trial to making a false statement, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2), and was sentenced to time served.

The indictment was dismissed against Miguel Patterson, 35, of Miami.

U.S. Attorney Ferrer and Assistant Attorney General Keneally commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI, FBI, and USSS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Tax Division Trial Attorney Greg Tortella.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.