BELARUSIAN NATIONAL PLEADS GUILTY TO U.S. TAX REFUND SCAM
A Belarusian national has pleaded guilty to participating in an international online scheme to steal U.S. tax refunds from victims across the country.
Mikalai Mardakhayeu, 31, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and nine counts of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
Between 2006 and 2007, Mardakhayeu’s co-conspirators operated websites that falsely claimed to be authorized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to offer lower-income taxpayers free online tax return preparation and electronic tax return filing (e-filing).
After taxpayers input and uploaded their tax information, co-conspirators in Belarus collected the data and altered the returns to increase the refund amounts and direct the refunds to U.S. bank accounts controlled by Mardakhayeu.
The conspirators then caused the fraudulently altered returns to be e-filed with the IRS, resulting in over $200,000 in stolen refunds being deposited into bank accounts controlled by Mardakhayeu.
Mardakhayeu faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution on each of the nine wire fraud counts, and an additional five years in prison on the conspiracy count.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26, 2011.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder and Trial Attorney Mona Sedky.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Cybercrime|White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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