Deundra Milhouse, Stolen Identity Refund Fraud, Alabama 2014

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA - Two Alabama men have been sentenced for their roles in stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) crimes, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Tamara Ashford of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama.

Deundra Milhouse, a resident of Alabama, was sentenced to 81 months in prison for his involvement in SIRF crimes. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Milhouse was indicted in December 2013 and has been detained since his arrest in late January 2014. According to his plea agreement, he was involved in SIRF crimes since the spring of 2011 and up through late 2013. In 2011 and 2012, he received over $80,000 in fraudulently obtained tax refunds into a bank account he controlled. By 2013, he had switched to using prepaid debit cards to receive the refunds.

Milhouse also admitted in his plea agreement that he was driving a car that had been stopped on October 8, 2013, in Elmore County, Alabama. He managed to flee on foot and threw away a handgun that he had been carrying. Milhouse was a convicted felon at that time and prohibited from having a firearm. Numerous prepaid debit cards and documents with personal identifying information were found in the car he had been driving. Milhouse also admitted that a later search of his house uncovered many more documents with the personal identifying information of victims, as well as over 200 prepaid debit cards, a computer used to file tax returns, and a magazine and ammunition for the discarded handgun.

As part of his plea, Milhouse had stipulated that his conduct involved an attempted fraud loss of over $400,000, more than 250 victims, and that he had at least one felony conviction for a crime of violence prior to his possession of the handgun.

Fredrick Hill, another resident of Alabama, was sentenced to 74 months in prison for his involvement in SIRF crimes. He had previously pleaded guilty to access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to his plea agreement, Hill sold stolen identities to others to be used in SIRF crimes. Hill admitted that at one point he possessed dozens of prepaid debit cards and over 300 stolen identities in connection with his involvement in SIRF crime.

Both cases were investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance in the Milhouse case. Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler of the Tax Division prosecuted the Milhouse case and Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Gregory Bailey prosecuted the Hill case. Assistant United States Attorney Todd Brown and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama assisted with both cases.

Mandatory facts:

• Defendant: Deundra Milhouse
• Criminal charges: Access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, being a felon in possession of a firearm
• City and state: Montgomery, Alabama
• Exact date: January 2014 (arrest)
• Sentence: 81 months in prison
• Dollar amount: $80,000 (fraudulently obtained tax refunds)

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdal/pr/two-alabama-men-sentenced-stolen-identity-refund-fraud-crimes-separate-cases