Mail Carrier Gets Over Nine Years for Tax Fraud Scheme

MONTGOMERY, AL – A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier is trading his route for a federal prison cell. Vernon Harrison, of Montgomery, Alabama, received a hefty 111-month sentence today for his central role in a brazen stolen identity refund fraud scheme. The sentence, handed down by a federal judge in the Middle District of Alabama, also includes three years of supervised release and a court order to pay $82,791 in restitution.

Harrison, convicted on July 3, 2013, following a jury trial, wasn’t acting alone. Prosecutors proved he conspired to file false claims, committing numerous counts of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and embezzlement from the mail. The scheme involved using stolen identities to file bogus tax returns, seeking fraudulent refunds. These returns weren’t filed from legitimate businesses, but from temporary locations like houses and hotels scattered around Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama.

The key to the operation? Harrison’s postal route. The fraudulent tax refunds were loaded onto debit cards and mailed to addresses *on* that route. Harrison, abusing his position of trust, systematically stole those debit cards before they reached their intended recipients. He then handed them over to a co-conspirator in exchange for cold, hard cash. Over the course of the scheme, authorities say Harrison pilfered over 100 debit cards, effectively laundering stolen funds through the U.S. mail.

Federal agents built a solid case, executing search warrants at multiple locations in Montgomery and near Birmingham. The evidence recovered was damning: over 100 envelopes addressed to the debit card recipients on Harrison’s route. Agents also directly observed Harrison failing to deliver Turbo Tax debit cards – a clear indication of his involvement. The investigation uncovered a sophisticated operation, but Harrison proved to be a critical weak link.

“This sentence sends a clear message,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Those who abuse positions of trust to facilitate fraud will be held accountable.” U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, George L. Beck, Jr., echoed those sentiments. The investigation was a joint effort by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General. Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler secured the conviction.

The Justice Department’s Tax Division continues to aggressively pursue individuals involved in schemes designed to defraud the U.S. Treasury. For more information on their enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/tax. This case serves as a stark reminder that even those entrusted with delivering the mail aren’t above the law.

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