BELARUSIAN NATIONAL PLEADS GUILTY TO INTERNATIONAL ONLINE TAX REFUND SCHEME
In a shocking case of cybercrime, a 31-year-old Belarusian national, Mikalai Mardakhayeu, has pleaded guilty to an international online scheme to steal income tax refunds from U.S. taxpayers.
According to court records, from 2006 through 2007, Mardakhayeu’s co-conspirators operated websites that falsely claimed to be authorized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to offer lower-income taxpayers free online tax return preparation and electronic tax return filing (e-filing).
After taxpayers input and uploaded their tax information, co-conspirators in Belarus collected the data and altered the returns to increase the refund amounts and to direct the refunds to U.S. bank accounts controlled by Mardakhayeu.
The conspirators ultimately caused the U.S. Treasury and various state treasury departments to deposit more than $200,000 in stolen refunds into bank accounts controlled by Mardakhayeu.
Mardakhayeu, a resident of Nantucket, Mass., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. in the District of Massachusetts, to one count of conspiracy and nine counts of wire fraud.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution on each of the nine wire fraud counts.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2011.
Related Federal Cases
- Viviane Cazeau, Bank Fraud Scheme, Massachusetts, 2023 · New Hampshire
- Adrianne Marta Frazer, Tax Refund Fraud, Phoenix AZ, 2023 · Oregon
- Juan Vasquez, Tax Refund Identity Theft, RI 2024 · Puerto Rico
- Carla Douglas Conigliaro, Cash-Withdrawal Scheme, Massachusetts 2023 · Washington
- Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, Elder Fraud Scheme, Boston MA, 2026 · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Cybercrime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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