Million-Dollar Identity Theft Scheme Unravels in Montgomery

A shocking million-dollar identity theft and tax refund fraud scheme has come to an end with the guilty pleas of a family of six in Montgomery, Ala.

Veronica Temple and Yolanda Moses both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of theft of public funds, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Barbara Murry pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. Douglas Murry pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. Lee Moses and Jeffrey Temple both pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return.

The scheme, which operated from 2006 to 2012, involved the theft of over 700 identities, with the defendants using these identities to file false tax returns and direct over $1.3 million in refunds to bank accounts controlled by the family and their co-conspirators.

At the center of the scheme were Barbara Murry’s daughter, Yolanda Moses, who owned and operated B & B Tax Service in Montgomery, and her sister, Veronica Temple, who obtained stolen identities from multiple sources and filed false tax returns from her home and the tax service.

‘The Tax Division is committed to prosecuting those who steal the personal identities of American taxpayers to commit tax refund fraud,’ said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally. ‘We continue to work closely with the IRS to protect the public from these criminals.’

‘Honest and law-abiding citizens are frustrated by those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money as well as skirt their own tax obligations,’ said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS-Criminal Investigation. ‘The U.S. government and the people of the United States will not tolerate the misuse of our nation’s tax system to facilitate identity theft.’

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS – Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Jared Morris.

Veronica Temple and Yolanda Moses are scheduled to be sentenced on February 6, 2012, while sentencing dates for the other defendants have not been scheduled.

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