Houston Couple Convicted in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON – The female former fugitive sought in a sophisticated tax fraud/identity theft scheme involving more than 800 victims has been convicted, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Thalia Diaz Camareno, 30, of Houston, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, while her husband - Antolin Julio Nazario, 34 – entered his plea April 27, 2015.

Both have admitted that from approximately June 2010 to January 2012, they engaged in a scheme that involved the filing of hundreds of fraudulent tax returns, commonly referred to as Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF). The Houston couple used stolen and unlawfully obtained personal identity information, including the names and Social Security numbers, of true persons to prepare fraudulent U.S. income tax returns.

Nazario aka Robinson Gomez Churon and Camareno aka Irene Carrero Echevarria mailed the fraudulent federal income tax returns through the U.S. Postal Service in order to generate and obtain tax refunds from the IRS to which they were not entitled and directed the fraudulently obtained tax refunds be disbursed as U.S. Treasury checks. The refunds were then used to obtain cash and goods for their own benefit.

The current fraudulent tax refund filings attributed to this couple have resulted in $4,095,959 potential loss, an excess of $800,000 paid out by the IRS and involves more than 800 victims whose identities were stolen to conduct the scheme.

Camareno was indicted along with her husband on Nov. 13, 2014. Nazario was taken into custody, while Camareno was considered a fugitive until her surrender Dec. 10, 2014. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt accepted both guilty pleas and has set sentencing for Nov. 30, 2015, for Nazario and Jan. 11, 2016, for his wife. Both will face up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Nazario was also convicted of one count of aggravated identity theft for which he will face an additional mandatory 24-month sentence to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by IRS - Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Elmilady is prosecuting the case.