Marc A. Bell, Identity Theft and Tax Fraud, Maryland 2015

Identity Thief Sentenced to Prison for Role in Massive Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Scheme in Maryland

A resident of Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced to prison for his involvement in a far-reaching identity theft and tax fraud scheme in which he assisted in the filing of fraudulent federal income tax returns seeking more than $4.4 million in refunds.

Marc A. Bell, 49, a former employee of the District of Columbia’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in January for his role in the scheme.

The scheme involved the filing of at least 12,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns that sought refunds of at least $42 million from the U.S. Treasury. The false tax returns sought refunds for tax years 2005 through 2013 and were often filed in the names of people whose identities had been stolen, including the elderly, people in assisted living facilities, drug addicts and incarcerated individuals.

Bell was employed as a program manager, program officer or placement expeditor at DYRS from 2005 to 2013 and had access to the agency’s database system, which contained the personal identifying information of DYRS youth, including their names and social security numbers.

Bell admitted that between approximately May 2010 and April 2013, he used his computer access to obtain the personal identifying information of at least 645 then-current and former DYRS youth. He provided this information to other scheme participants, who used the names and social security numbers to file at least 1,160 fraudulent federal income tax returns that claimed refunds of approximately $4,441,194.

Bell received financial compensation from co-conspirators for providing the stolen identities. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, one count of aiding and abetting in the filing of fictitious or false claims and one count aiding and abetting fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents.

The court also ordered Bell to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $1,972,710.

In addition to Bell, approximately 20 participants in this scheme have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General.

Bell was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle.

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