Brooklyn Man Ditched $3M COVID Relief Heist

Brooklyn Man Arrested for $3M COVID Relief Tax Credit Scam

BOSTON – In a brazen scheme to rip off the government, Isaiah Aaron Tenryk, 28, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested today for stealing over $3 million in COVID relief tax credits using the stolen identity of a corporate executive in New Jersey.

Tenryk was hit with charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft after an initial appearance in federal court in Boston. Following his court appearance, Tenryk was detained pending a hearing scheduled for May 16, 2024.

According to the charging documents, Tenryk used a fraudulent driver’s license as well as the name and Social Security number of the corporate executive in New Jersey to open an account at a bank in Boston. He then allegedly deposited an approximately $3 million Employee Retention Tax Credit check payable to the executive’s company into the fraudulent account.

The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory two years in prison in addition to any sentence imposed for bank fraud, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.