Tampa Man Sentenced In Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Cedric Clark to eight years and six months in federal prison for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme in the Tampa Bay area. As part of his sentence, the Court ordered him to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $1,933.862.37. Clark pleaded guilty on June 21, 2016.

According to court documents, between October 2010 and June 2013, Clark engaged in a fraud scheme involving the filing of false and fraudulent income tax returns in the names of living and deceased individuals. Clark and his co-conspirators received approximately $1.9 million in tax refund checks from the IRS. They had filed returns requesting refunds of almost $6 million.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.