Fake Check Fixers Sentenced

BOSTON – In a brazen scheme to cash in on stolen tax refunds, a New York man and his sister-in-law were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Springfield for their roles in a massive Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) scam.

Robert Evans, 54, of Wallkill, NY, was handed a two-year probation sentence, including three months of home confinement, by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni. The judge also ordered Evans to pay $517,714 in restitution. Evans had pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government money in January 2016.

Evelyn Manzueta, 52, of Springfield, was sentenced on October 6, 2016, to one year in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,377,376 in restitution. Manzueta pleaded guilty to theft of government property in June 2016.

The scheme, which ran from January 2012 to May 2013, involved Manzueta orchestrating the cashing of 236 fraudulent tax refund checks. She cashed nearly $500,000 through her own accounts and enlisted friends and family members, including her brother-in-law Evans, to cash the remaining checks. In total, $1,377,376 in fraudulent tax returns were cashed through the scheme.

The U.S. Department of Treasury issued the checks based on tax returns submitted by unknown individuals, which were later determined to be fraudulent. The tax returns used the names and Social Security numbers of real people living in Puerto Rico, but listed their addresses as Massachusetts and New York. The tax returns also contained false employment information.

Both Evans and Manzueta knew the tax return checks were fraudulent and cashed them through their bank accounts. The case is part of an ongoing effort to prosecute perpetrators of SIRF schemes, which are estimated to have cost the government $5.8 billion in 2013.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Goodwin of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.

The IRS has been working tirelessly to combat SIRF crimes, which often involve large criminal enterprises using stolen identities to steal money from the U.S. Treasury. The agency has made significant strides in recent years, but the problem persists.

As the IRS continues to crack down on SIRF schemes, it’s clear that individuals like Evans and Manzueta will face severe consequences for their actions. The question remains: how many more will be caught in the net?