David Earl Tucker Sentenced in Stolen Identity Tax Fraud

A Miami man is headed to federal prison after being caught red-handed with a stolen tax refund check and a fake Texas driver’s license. David Earl Tucker, 30, of Miami, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his role in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme that exploited the U.S. mail system from the inside.

Tucker previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). The crime unraveled during a routine traffic stop, where Tucker presented law enforcement with a phony ID in someone else’s name. A vehicle inventory turned up a Treasury-issued tax refund check made out to another individual — a check later tied to his own mother.

Tara Marshea Tucker, 47, of Miami and a U.S. postal employee, admitted to stealing mail in the course of her duties. Court records show she removed four to five tax refund checks from the mail stream, handing two of them over to her son, David. In return, she was promised a cut of each check’s value. The total intended loss from the fraud: $12,139.16. Tara Tucker pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced on November 2, 2016, to four months in prison and four months of home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release.

The investigation was a multi-agency crackdown involving the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Authorities moved swiftly after the traffic stop uncovered a pattern of stolen identities and fraudulent documents tied directly to the postal route.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, confirmed the sentencing and praised the collaborative takedown. “This case exposes a breach of public trust,” Ferrer said. “A postal worker exploited her position to funnel stolen government checks to her son, who then tried to cash them using fake IDs. Justice caught up.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua S. Rothstein, Ilham A. Hosseini, and Anne P. McNamara. Court documents are available via the Southern District of Florida’s public docket at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.