Ashburn Man Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft and Wire Fraud, Virginia 2015
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Kouame ‘Innocent’ Tanoh, 53, of Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in operating a longstanding fraudulent scheme used stolen personal identifying information and claimed over $400,000 in false tax refunds.
According to court documents, from April 2008 through February 2015, Tanoh obtained individuals’ names and personal identifying information, including their Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Tanoh acquired some of this information by holding himself out as being in the business of preparing tax returns, in part through a Virginia corporation called Alpha and Omega Financial Services.
Tanoh would then use peoples’ names and personal identifying information for several different purposes, including the preparation and filing of false and fraudulent federal and state tax returns that made false claims for tax refunds. To increase the amount of the refund requested by the fraudulent returns, Tanoh would add items to the returns, including false dependents, false businesses on the taxpayer’s Schedule C, false education expenses, and false moving expenses.
The actual loss to the IRS and state departments of revenue as a result of the returns prepared and filed by Tanoh is over $400,000. In addition to filing false tax returns, Tanoh also used and lived other people’s identities, in part because he had no legal status to work or remain in the United States.
Tanoh faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge when he is sentenced on July 31, 2015. The investigation was initiated in August 2014, when the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police stopped Tanoh on a traffic violation. A subsequent search yielded several financial documents and fraudulent identification cards, including a driver’s license and Social Security card in the name of other individuals.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, DC; IRS-Criminal Investigations, Washington Field Office; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. The plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.
Related Federal Cases
- Barbara Holly Stahlman, Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, T… · Virginia
- Karen Holtz, Identity Theft and Financial Fraud, Alexandria VA, 2023 · Florida
- Treyton Lee Thomas, Wire Fraud, Virginia 2024 · Virginia
- William Frazier Sentenced to 51 Months for Wire Fraud, Midland GA, … · Washington
- Willie C. Grant, ID Theft and Tax Refund Fraud, Macon GA, 2008 · Connecticut
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
ðŸâ€â€™ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
