Miami Man Charged in $12 Million Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Scheme Involving Thousands of Fraudulently Obtained U.S. Treasury Checks

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Paula A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS); Antonio J. Gomez, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced the filing of a criminal complaint charging defendant Frankie Jermaine Anderson, 40, of Miami, with conspiracy to defraud the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, theft of government money or property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, from about February through June 2012, a check casher in Perrine, Florida (J&S Taxes) cashed thousands of fraudulently obtained U.S. income tax refund checks worth over $12 million. The defendant allegedly provided the vast majority of these fraudulently obtained checks to the check casher for cashing. Proceeds from this fraud were then used by the defendant to purchase two separate homes—one for the defendant and one for the defendant’s mother (each valued at approximately $250,000). In addition, the defendant used the proceeds from the fraud to purchase a 2012 BMW 530i, a Porsche Cayenne, a 2012 Porsche Panamera, a 212 Cadillac CTS, a 2012 Jaguar XF, a 2013 BMW X6, a 2012 Jaguar XJ, and a 2013 Bentley GT Coupe. According to state of Florida employment records, the defendant has been unemployed since 2003.

According to the affidavit, on November 28, 2012, the defendant was arrested in possession of 35 U.S. Treasury checks totaling approximately $119,165.60, including at least one check issued in the name of a deceased person.

Mr. Ferrer thanked IRS-CI, USSS, USPIS, and FBI for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael N. Berger, Evelyn Baldonato-Sheehan, and Elijah Levitt.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.