Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Scheme and SSN Misuse

 Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Guy P. Fallen, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), and J.D. Patterson, Acting Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced that defendant Marvince Milfort, 23, of North Miami, pled guilty earlier today in connection with a tax refund scheme in which he used stolen social security and other personal identifying information to file false on-line tax returns that resulted in the issuance of numerous tax refunds by the IRS.

More specifically, Milfort pled guilty to four counts of identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028(a)(7), one count of theft of public money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641, and one count of access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3).  Sentencing has been scheduled for November 28, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in Miami.  At sentencing, defendant Milfort faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to ten years in prison on the theft of public money and access device fraud counts, and up to five years in prison on each of the identity theft counts. 

According to the allegations in the indictment and statements made in court, between September 2011 and February 2012, Milfort used stolen Social Security Administration (SSA) documents containing personal identification information of SSA applicants, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and other sensitive personal information, to electronically file false federal income tax returns in the names of the identity theft victims using a Turbo Tax program.  In this way, Milfort claimed IRS tax refunds to which he was not entitled. To execute the scheme, Milfort directed the IRS to direct deposit the refunds onto Green Dot or other reloadable debit cards (debit cards).  Upon receipt of the loaded debit cards, Milfort would convert the funds to cash or would use the debit cards to make purchases at local retailers.

 During the investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized three laptop computers, four notebooks containing more than 200 names and personal identification information of unsuspecting identity theft victims, more than 500 stolen SSA documents, dental patient lists containing sensitive personal identification information, more than 100 prepaid debit cards, and $24,480 in cash.

 Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the SSA-OIG, the IRS-CID, and the Miami-Dade Police Department.  This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.

 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.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 www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.