A former Miami Dade College (MDC) employee was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $19,083 for his participation in an identity theft tax fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Steve Steinberg, Chief, Aventura Police Department, made the announcement.

Michelson Jeancy, 35, of Miami, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to court documents, Jeancy worked at MDC as a Student Services Assistant. As part of his regular employment, the defendant had access to student records, which contained personal identifying information (“PII”). Between February 2013 and June 2104, the defendant stole the PII of current and former MDC students. Using the students’ PII, the defendant and his accomplices filed fraudulent tax returns.

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

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. 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.