Memphis Man Pleads Guilty in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

ERIE, Pa. – A resident of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Saburi Adeyemi, 58, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Adeyemi obtained stolen identity information which he shared with co-conspirators who used that information to file fraudulent federal tax returns seeking tax refunds. The information provided by Adeyemi was also used to open bank accounts that were used as repositories for the fraudulently obtained federal tax refunds.

Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for December 7, 2015. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of loss to the victims, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.