Florida Man Charged in Tax Scheme
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 06, 2014 |
Marc Celestin, 34, of Miami, Florida, was charged today by indictment with eight counts of wire fraud and eight counts of making a false claim against the United States, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that from January 2011 to May 2012, Celestin used the stolen identities of a number of people to fraudulently prepare tax returns directing that the tax refund checks be direct deposited to bank accounts opened and controlled by Marc Celestin.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 200 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $4,000,000 fine, and a special assessment of $1,600.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laurie Magid.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.