Oakland, CA – Jonathan Davis, 32, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in an identity theft scheme that netted him nearly $180,000, authorities announced today.
Davis devised a scheme to obtain money by preparing and filing false federal income tax returns in the names of other people, according to the plea agreement. He ordered friends to obtain names, birthdates, and social security numbers of people who did not authorize the use of that information on the filed tax returns.
Davis then opened bank accounts in the names of the victims and linked those accounts to debit cards, which he directed to be mailed to himself or his friends. He paid his friends up to $200 for addresses to use for bank accounts, debit cards, and tax returns.
Between 2011 and 2012, Davis caused 111 materially false federal income tax returns to be electronically filed. He falsely claimed refunds of $484,546, and successfully obtained $178,426 from the IRS.
The scheme came to an end when Davis was indicted on August 22, 2013, on 11 counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of aggravated identity theft. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Davis’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 24, 2014, before the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, U.S. District Judge, in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud is 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000.
Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case, which is the result of an investigation by the IRS, Criminal Investigation.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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