Jackpot built on stolen lives. Dreshawn Royell Mays, 23, of Jacksonville, is behind bars, charged in a brazen stolen identity refund fraud scheme that ripped off the U.S. Treasury for at least $67,859. Federal prosecutors say Mays didn’t just file fake returns — he weaponized other people’s identities to cash in on phantom refunds, treating the IRS like a personal ATM.
Mays was hit with a triple-count indictment on May 26, 2016, charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft of government money, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he’s staring down a 12-year federal prison sentence and a restitution bill of no less than $67,859 owed directly to the Internal Revenue Service. A federal judge ordered him detained earlier this week, ruling he’s too much of a flight risk to walk free before trial.
The indictment ties Mays to a wider fraud ring operating in North Florida, where personal data was harvested, forged, and exploited to file fraudulent tax returns. Authorities say the scheme relied on stolen Social Security numbers and fabricated income records, tricking the IRS into issuing refunds to criminals who never earned a dime of taxable income.
Charmaine Bates, 42, also of Jacksonville, was indicted in the same May 26, 2016, sweep. Unlike Mays, she’s already admitted guilt, pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and aggravated identity theft. Her sentencing is set for February 28, 2017, in Jacksonville federal court — a day of reckoning after years of living off stolen paperwork.
The investigation was led by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation’s North Florida Financial Crimes Task Force. That unit is a hard-nosed coalition of IRS-CI agents, U.S. Secret Service operatives, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detectives, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers — all focused on dismantling financial fraud where it festers. Their work turned data dumps into docket numbers.
Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase is prosecuting the case. A reminder: an indictment is not a conviction. Dreshawn Mays is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But the evidence, the charges, and the federal lockup say this is no paper crime — real identities were hijacked, real money was stolen, and real time may be coming due.
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Related Federal Cases
- Jacksonville Tax Prep Scammer Pleads Guilty to Fraud · Florida
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- RCI Execs Hit With Bribery and Tax Fraud Charges · New York
- RCI Execs Bribed Tax Auditor with Lap Dances: $8M Fraud · New York
- Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty to ID Theft and Fraudulent Tax Returns Scheme · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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