A Miami Dade College student was sentenced to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $29,289, for his participation in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme involving student financial services accounts.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Smith Jean, 23, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and one count of theft of government property or money.

According to court documents, from October 15, 2012 to September 23, 2013, Jean participated in a tax fraud scheme with co-defendant Beatrice Simeon, 22, and other co-conspirators. During the course of the scheme, the co-conspirators received fraudulently obtained U.S. Department of Treasury tax refunds into their personal Higher One, Inc. (HOI) accounts. HOI provided financial services to colleges and universities throughout the United States, including Miami Dade College in the Southern District of Florida.

Jean opened his HOI account when he enrolled as a student at Miami Dade College. Jean and his co-conspirators set up their HOI accounts to allow for the receipt of the fraudulently obtained federal income tax refunds. After the stolen tax refunds were deposited into Jean’s HOI account, the defendant withdrew the fraudulently obtained monies for his own personal benefit. Jean recruited co-defendant Simeon to participate in the tax fraud scheme by offering her a financial incentive, in exchange for the deposit of stolen tax refunds into Simeon’s HOI account. Simeon agreed to participate in the tax fraud scheme and provided Jean with her HOI account number.

Jean and other unknown co-conspirators submitted thirty-eight (38) false and fraudulent tax returns, claiming $263,415 in tax refunds to be deposited into Simeon’s HOI account. Jean and the co-conspirators also submitted twenty-four (24) false and fraudulent tax returns, claiming $81,076 in tax refunds to be deposited into Jean’s HOI account.

Co-defendant Simeon previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and one count of theft of government property or money. Simeon was sentenced to five years of probation by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gera R. Peoples.

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.