Gladys Maria Pena Dominguez, Theft of Government Property, NY

Gladys Maria Pena Dominguez, 34, of the Bronx, N.Y., and formerly of Nashua, N.H., has admitted to her role in a brazen federal tax refund and identity theft scheme that bled more than $1.1 million from the U.S. Treasury. Pena pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to three charges: Theft of Government Property, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Conspiracy. The crimes were executed between January 2012 and December 2013, with stolen identities as the weapon and IRS refund checks as the spoils.

Pena wasn’t just a participant—she was a courier for crime. Court statements reveal she transported at least 130 fraudulent U.S. Treasury tax refund checks from New York City to a co-conspirator in New Hampshire. Each check was tied to a fake tax return filed using real people’s names and Social Security numbers—without their knowledge. The conspirators manipulated the IRS by listing false addresses, ensuring the refunds landed in mailboxes they controlled.

For each delivery, Pena was paid in cash—a cut of the loot pulled from hardworking Americans’ tax system. The scam was methodical, relying on stolen personal data and bureaucratic blind spots to slip past federal safeguards. The total face value of the fraudulent checks? Over $1.1 million. Every dollar was extracted through deception, leaving victims vulnerable and the Treasury shortchanged.

The case unfolded in Concord, N.H., under the watch of U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty, who accepted Pena’s guilty plea and set sentencing for March 16, 2017. Though she admitted guilt, Pena now faces the full force of federal punishment: a maximum of 17 years behind bars, fines up to $750,000, or both. There will be no walkaway from this one.

Investigation was led by the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, with boots on the ground from their Manchester, N.H., field office and support from their New York counterparts. The operation peeled back layers of a network built on stolen identities and cold calculation. This wasn’t a crime of opportunity—it was a conspiracy engineered to exploit the system.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse is prosecuting the case, sending a clear message: stealing from the federal government carries consequences. As Pena awaits sentencing, her name joins a growing list of those who thought they could game the tax code—and lost. The IRS isn’t just chasing refunds. It’s chasing justice.