Exeland Man Sentenced to Six Years in Stolen Identity Tax Return Frad Scheme

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jason T. Procknow, 41, Exeland, Wisconsin, was sentenced to six years in federal prison yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Conley for theft of funds from the United States Treasury and aggravated identity theft for his scheme to file false tax returns and demand tax refunds using the stolen identities of other individuals. Procknow was also ordered to pay $42,646.78 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Procknow’s conduct involved sending blank forms to prison inmates, promising them assistance with their own legal difficulties. The forms required the inmates to provide personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers. Procknow then used the identities and Social Security numbers of the inmates to file fraudulent tax returns, directing the tax refunds to be directly deposited to his personal bank account.

Judge Conley said that while Procknow’s elaborate scheme demonstrated an obvious level of intelligence, his long history of criminal offenses and failure to change his behavior after serving past sentences suggest that Procknow will continue to use his intelligence to commit new crimes rather than advance himself or contribute to society.

The charges against Jason T. Procknow were the result of an investigation conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Eagan (Minnesota) Police Department. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.