Alci Bonannee, Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud, Florida 2013

Florida residents Alci Bonannee and Sonyini Clay have been sentenced for their roles in an identity theft tax refund fraud scheme that targeted the Internal Revenue Service. According to court documents, the duo, along with co-defendant Chante Mozley, engaged in a large-scale identity theft tax fraud scheme that operated from December 2010 through June 2012.

During the course of the fraud scheme, there were approximately 2,000 fraudulent tax returns submitted to the Internal Revenue Service for payment seeking $11 million dollars in refunds. The Department of Treasury paid out approximately $3.5 million dollars into bank accounts held in the name of and controlled by the defendants, who withdrew approximately $1.9 million in cash.

Bonannee, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced to 317 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge James I. Cohn also ordered Bonannee to pay $1,908,182 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Clay, 40, of Miami Gardens, was sentenced to 121 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, filing false claims, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The scheme involved compromised personal identification information obtained from a nurse at a local hospital. Bonannee filed a majority of the fraudulent tax returns from her house and other locations, while Clay filed several hundred fraudulent tax returns from her house and other locations.

Co-defendant Chante Mozley was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to file fraudulent claims. Mozley was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,908,182.00 to the Internal Revenue Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael N. Berger and Wilfredo Fernandez. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida commended IRS-CID and USSS for their work on the case.

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