A 42-year-old Minnesota man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating an elaborate identity theft and tax fraud scheme that spanned over a decade.
According to court documents, Christopher Lindsey, of Brooklyn Park, used stolen bank account information to make counterfeit checks, which were later cashed or deposited at various financial institutions and businesses throughout the Twin Cities.
Lindsey and his co-conspirators attempted to steal more than $1 million, with actual losses totaling over $270,000 in fraudulent tax refunds.
The scheme involved recruiting individuals to file false tax returns, creating fraudulent W-2s with false information, and loading the resulting tax refunds onto debit cards.
Lindsey’s co-conspirators would then provide the debit cards to him, who would use them to make cash withdrawals from ATMs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lola A. Velazquez-Aguilu praised the 15-year sentence, saying, ‘Christopher Lindsey is responsible for compromising the bank accounts of thousands of victims.’
The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, comprised of the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Division, and local law enforcement agencies.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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