A Bergen County man has been sentenced to 24 months and two days in prison for his role in a scheme to file fraudulent tax returns in victims’ names in order to obtain tax refunds to which he was not entitled.
Emmanuel A. Barrientos-Fermin, 39, was sentenced on February 22, 2024, via videoconference by U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Barrientos and others conspired to utilize stolen personal identifying information (PII) to submit fraudulent tax returns in victims’ names, in order to obtain tax refunds without the victims’ knowledge or consent.
From January 2020, through February 2020, the conspirators would obtain falsified Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, birth certificates and W-2s bearing the victims’ stolen PII and provide them to Barrientos-Fermin and other conspirators, who would use them to file tax returns at various tax preparation company branches posing as the victims.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Barrientos-Fermin three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $17,373 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Damon Wood, Philadelphia Division; and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Government Fraud Unit in Newark, New Jersey.
Related Federal Cases
- Gomidas Garabed Hartounian, Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion, NJ 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Ricardo Reid, Mail and Wire Fraud Conspiracy, New Jersey 2024 · Virginia
- Kent Jay Trembly, Tax Return Filing Fraud, Nebraska 2024 · Kansas
- Doreen A. Gentile, Tax Refund Fraud, NJ 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Michael Conway, Wire Fraud, New Jersey 2016 · New York
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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