A Belarusian national has been caught in a massive online scheme to steal US tax refunds. Mikalai Mardakhayeu, 31, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his involvement in the international online scam.
According to court records, 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. The websites lured victims into inputting and uploading their tax information, which was then collected by co-conspirators in Belarus.
The data was altered to increase the refund amounts and direct the refunds to US bank accounts controlled by Mardakhayeu. The conspirators then caused the fraudulently altered returns to be e-filed with the IRS, ultimately causing the US Treasury and various state treasury departments to deposit over $200,000 in stolen refunds into bank accounts controlled by Mardakhayeu.
Mardakhayeu, a resident of Nantucket, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and nine counts of wire fraud in the District of Massachusetts. 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.
On the conspiracy count, Mardakhayeu faces an additional five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2011.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder of the District of Massachusetts’s Computer Crimes Unit and by Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Related Federal Cases
- Jon D. Zapisek, Willful Failure to File Tax Returns, Massachusetts 2006 · Ohio
- James Lowe, Filing False Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Massachusetts 2016 · Washington
- John H Molloy Jr, Filing False Tax Returns, Massachusetts 2006 · Massachusetts
- John F. Paczkowski, Filing False Tax Returns, Massachusetts 2010 · Massachusetts
- Andrew R. Bisignani, Filing False Tax Returns, Massachusetts 2017 · Massachusetts
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News