June 10, 2015

Miami Dade College Student Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for His Involvement in a Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Scheme Involving Student Financial Services Accounts

A Miami Dade College student was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of $63,419.30 for his involvement in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme involving student financial services accounts.

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

Ronald Dumond, Jr., a/k/a “Swaggabankz,” a/k/a “Carltin Swagga Banks,” a/k/a “Junior,” 23, of Miami, Florida previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United State Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

Court documents state that from August 8, 2011 to September 23, 2013, Dumond, Jr. participated in a tax fraud scheme with Bianca Noel, 22, of Miami, Florida, Mistie Faustin, 23, of Miami, Florida, and others where the defendants received fraudulently obtained tax refunds in their personal Higher One, Inc. (HOI) accounts. Higher One provided financial services to colleges and universities throughout the United States, including Miami Dade College in Florida.

Dumond, Jr. recruited Noel, Faustin, and other MDC students to participate in the tax fraud scheme by offering them a chance to make money if they would allow stolen tax refunds to be deposited into their HOI accounts. Noel, Faustin and other MDC students agreed and provided Dumond, Jr. with their HOI account numbers and log-in information.

Dumond, Jr. submitted to the U.S. Department of Treasury 35 fraudulent tax returns claiming $186,223 in tax refunds and directed these refunds to be deposited into Noel’s HOI account; submitted 26 fraudulent tax returns claiming $73,735 in tax refunds and directed these refunds to be deposited into Faustin’s HOI account; and submitted 8 fraudulent tax returns claiming $27,602 in tax refunds and directed these refunds to be deposited into Dumond, Jr.’s HOI account. From April 1, 2012 through May 30, 2012, Dumond, Jr.’s HOI account received $3,417.00 in proceeds from stolen tax refunds from other MDC students’ HOI accounts. Dumond, Jr. paid Noel, Faustin and other MDC students for allowing their HOI accounts to receive stolen tax refunds.

During a search warrant of Dumond, Jr.’s residence, federal agents found 4,250 names and social security numbers of real people on electronic devices (computers, CDs, and hard drives) and loose leaf papers. Law enforcement found files on CDs which contained lists of the MDC students and their HOI account information such as Noel and Faustin who participated in the tax fraud scheme. These files also contained lists with the names and social security numbers of victims who had fraudulent tax returns filed using their names and social security numbers and the HOI accounts and other debit cards in which the stolen tax refunds were deposited. IRS-CI determined that the names and social security numbers found were used to file fraudulent tax returns for the tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Co-defendant Noel was sentenced on June 1, 2015 to 30 days in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of $32,586. Noel previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and one count of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

Co-defendant Faustin was sentenced on April 14, 2015 to two years of probation and was ordered to pay $20,819 in restitution. Faustin previously pled guilty to theft of government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 641 and 2.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Identity Theft Tax Refund Strike Force, with special commendation to the FBI and IRS-CI. This 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.