Defendant Sentenced in Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that defendant Nael Dawud Sammour, 52, of Pompano Beach, was sentenced yesterday before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas in connection with his previous conviction on two counts of aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A and eight counts of theft of public money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641.

At yesterday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas sentenced defendant Nael Sammour to 139 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, as well as from court documents, unknown individuals used stolen identification information, including the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of unsuspecting taxpayers to fraudulently apply for and receive U.S. tax refunds to which they were not entitled. Thereafter, Sammour obtained many of these fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks and later transferred these checks, along with counterfeit driver’s licenses and Social Security cards, to undercover IRS agents posing as check cashers. In total, agents seized 75 fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks totaling $750,369.45 from Defendant Sammour. Moreover, when Sammour was arrested, law enforcement located and seized $30,128.24 in U.S. currency.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI and the FBI for their work on the case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.

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.