Caty Gets 8½ Years for Tax Fraud Scheme

TAMARAC, FL – Nick Caty, 44, is headed to federal prison for 8½ years after pleading guilty to a brazen identity theft and tax refund fraud scheme that bilked the IRS out of nearly a million dollars. Caty was sentenced to 102 months, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $876,215.00 in restitution. The scheme involved using stolen personal information to file fraudulent tax returns and deposit the ill-gotten gains onto prepaid debit cards.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, along with the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Miami Field Office, announced the sentencing. The investigation revealed that between January 2014 and March 2014, Caty and his co-defendant, Junior Thompson, 35, of Tamarac, submitted 352 fraudulent tax returns using stolen personal identity information (PII). They attempted to claim $945,554 in fraudulent refunds, funneling the money onto prepaid debit cards they then withdrew from.

Authorities discovered Caty and Thompson weren’t just skimming off the top of one operation. The pair actively shared and transferred prepaid debit cards loaded with stolen refunds between each other. A search warrant executed at their Broward County business and residence in March 2014 uncovered lists containing the PII of over 4,000 individuals, suggesting a far wider scope of criminal activity than initially understood. This wasn’t a one-off scam; it was a systematic exploitation of vulnerable personal data.

The fraud extended beyond the 2014 scheme. Court documents show that from January 2012 through October 2013, Caty independently used stolen PII to file fraudulent tax returns, attempting to obtain approximately $1 million in refunds deposited into bank accounts under his control. This demonstrates a pattern of deliberate and prolonged criminal behavior, preying on individuals to enrich himself.

Thompson, Caty’s accomplice, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to use unauthorized access devices and one count of aggravated identity theft. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2015, before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. Thompson faces up to five years in prison for the access device charge and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft charge. The government is seeking full accountability for both men.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer praised the work of IRS-CI and the USSS, highlighting the collaborative effort that brought Caty to justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger prosecuted the case. This conviction serves as a warning: exploiting stolen identities for financial gain will be met with serious federal penalties. Further details can be found on the websites of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls) and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida (http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov).