Tampa Man Pleads Guilty To Role In Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Antwan Miller (38, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the theft charge, and a mandatory two-year, consecutive term for the identity theft offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to facts presented at the plea hearing, between January 2012 and September 2014, Miller was involved in a scheme to file false and fraudulent income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to generate the deposit of large refunds onto debit cards that he possessed and controlled. The investigation revealed that the IRS had received fraudulent tax returns in the names of victim-taxpayers that resulted in the delivery of almost $400,000 in fraudulent income tax refunds onto debit cards controlled by Miller and his co-conspirators. They then withdrew the money from ATMs and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. Several of Miller’s co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty to similar charges and are awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.