Sophisticated Scheme Seeks Over $100 Million from IRS
A federal grand jury in Austin returned an indictment on March 7, which was unsealed today, charging seven individuals with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and other crimes arising out of their scheme to defraud the IRS using stolen identities.
The indictment alleges that from 2018 through 2021, Abraham Yusuff, of Round Rock, Meghan Inyang, of San Antonio, Christopher Eduardo, of Round Rock, Christian Mathurin, of Nashville, Tennessee, Dillon Anozie, of San Antonio, Babajide Ogunbanjo, of Austin, and Aydin Mammadov, of Houston, engaged in a conspiracy to claim fraudulent tax refunds using the stolen identities of accountants and taxpayers by filing at least 371 false tax returns claiming over $111 million in refunds from the IRS.
The indictment charges each defendant with varying crimes, including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and access device fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the mail and wire fraud and the conspiracy of said fraud, 20 years for money laundering, 10 years for access device fraud, and a mandatory sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft.
The indictment also charges that Yusuff, Inyang, Eduardo, Anozie, Ogunbanjo, and Mammadov obtained the prepaid debit cards that were to be used to receive the fraudulent refunds and that once the refunds were deposited onto the prepaid debit cards, they laundered the funds by purchasing, among other things, money orders from local stores in amounts low enough to avoid reporting thresholds.
Yusuff allegedly recruited and directed Eduardo, Mathurin, Anozie, Ogunbanjo, and Mammadov to provide addresses to him that could be used in the scheme. Yusuff and others then allegedly registered with the IRS, posing as authorized agents of multiple taxpayers using stolen information relating to the taxpayers and their real tax preparers.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Abraham Yusuff, Christian Mathurin, Christopher Eduardo, Aydin Mammadov, Meghan Inyang, Dillon Anozie, Babajide Ogunbanjo
City and State: Round Rock, San Antonio, Austin, Nashville, Tennessee, Houston
Date: March 7, 2021
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, access device fraud
Sentence: Maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for mail and wire fraud and conspiracy, 20 years for money laundering, 10 years for access device fraud, and a mandatory sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft
Related Federal Cases
- Melinda Boisseau, Identity Theft Tax Fraud, TN 2017 · Tennessee
- Robert J. Spears, Tax Return Filing Fraud, Tennessee 2012 · Tennessee
- Mayra Edith Blair Sentenced to 37 Months for Tax Fraud and Money La… · Tennessee
- Kalena Latoya Winston, Tax Return Fraud Scheme, Killeen TX, 2016 · Kansas
- Bertha Del Pilar Vargas, $10.8M Tax Fraud and Money Laundering, Kno… · Tennessee
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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