Miami Men Sentenced in Social Security and Tax Refund Fraud Scheme Involving Stolen Identities
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 30, 2014 |
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Thomas Caul, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Inspector General; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that defendant Daniel Jean Charles, 31, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Charles pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.
Co-conspirator Wesley Compere, 31, of Miami, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A, in a separate case. Compere was sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Charles and Compere used stolen identities to file fraudulent Social Security Retirement Income Benefit (RIB) and fraudulent income tax refund claims. The scheme involved the payment of $111,002.10 in fraudulent RIB claims and $128,431.80 in fraudulent tax refund claims.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of SSA-OIG, FBI, and IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Maderal.
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.