Miami-Dade County Resident Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison for Unauthorized Possession of Stolen Identities and Tax Fraud Scheme

A Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 87 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $42,829 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), for unauthorized possession of stolen identities and participating in a tax fraud scheme.

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

Brandon K. Jenkins, 23, of Miami-Dade, previously pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices (the social security numbers of other individuals), and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, on March 18, 2014, IRS-CI and the USSS executed a residential search warrant and discovered over 3,000 items, including paperwork and notebooks, that contained the personal identifying information (PII) – name, date of birth, and social security number - of various individuals.  Located in the bedroom where Jenkins was sleeping was an envelope addressed to “Mr. Brandon K. Jenkins.”.  Inside the envelope, law enforcement discovered a wallet with a social security card in the defendant’s name, other documents in the defendant’s name, three debit cards in the names of other individuals, and five “Student Selection Form Cards” containing the names and social security numbers of other individuals.

A forensic analysis of the documents recovered from the target residence revealed Jenkins’ fingerprints on numerous items containing PII.  One document, a piece of paper, contained an individual’s PII that had been used to file a fraudulent income tax return from the target residence, where Jenkins’ had been residing.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the USSS.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke C. Watson and Gera R. Peoples.

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 www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl. 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.