Khaldoun Khalil Khawaja, Tax Rebate Scam, Virginia 2024

Tax Rebate Scam: Khaldoun Khalil Khawaja Pleads Guilty

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA — In a shocking turn of events, Khaldoun Khalil Khawaja, 47, of Wesley Chapel, Fla., has pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme to profit from fraudulent United States Treasury checks.

This is the second time this week that one of the three individuals charged with conspiracy and fraud charges has pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke. Khawaja’s guilty plea comes just days after Muawua Khalil Abdeljalil, 43, of Roanoke, Va., pleaded guilty to the same charges.

According to authorities, Khawaja conspired with two other men to negotiate fraudulent income tax refund checks and provided a market for the fraudulent checks. Stolen identity refund fraud is an emerging problem, one that prosecutors say will continue to be a priority.

“Mr. Khawaja conspired with two other men to negotiate fraudulent income tax refund checks and provided a market for the fraudulent checks,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “Stolen identity refund fraud is an emerging problem, one we will continue to prioritize. We will vigorously pursue all forms of fraud against the federal government and do what we can to hold those who commit these crimes accountable.”

The defendants have admitted to purchasing fraudulent income tax return checks and then presenting those fraudulent checks for payment at financial institutions in the Western District of Virginia, the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere. In all, the defendants fraudulently deposited more than $17.5 million as a result of the scheme.

At sentencing, Khawaja faces up to 25 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $750,000. A third defendant, Osama Mahmud Mustafa, has not yet been brought to trial.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Program, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) The United States Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia coordinated the prosecutions of the income tax refund fraud cases. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Mott of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia prosecuted the case for the United States.

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