Raymundo Hernandez, Tax Refund Check Scam, New Jersey 2014

Newark, New Jersey – In a brazen scheme, Raymundo Hernandez, 36, of Bronx, New York, stole $2.6 million in income tax refund checks issued by the United States, resulting in a 27-month prison sentence.

Hernandez, the ringleader of the conspiracy, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Madeline C. Arleo on March 26, 2014. He must also pay restitution of $2,659,717.82.

According to the documents filed in the case, Hernandez admitted to using stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) to steal the funds. He would obtain personal identifying information from unwitting individuals, complete IRS-1040 tax return forms using the fraudulently obtained information, and then direct the U.S. Treasury Department to mail the refund checks to locations he controlled.

Once Hernandez distributed the fraudulent checks, he and his conspirators deposited them into bank accounts, primarily in the names of businesses they controlled, and then withdrew large amounts of the proceeds in cash. They used some of the money to purchase cars and gamble at Atlantic City casinos.

The fraudulently cashed checks totaled approximately $2,659,718. Of these deposits, $171,589 was deposited into three bank accounts under Hernandez’s direct control.

Hernandez was charged with conspiracy to steal government funds. His co-conspirators, Luis Pena, Gloria Rivera, and Lourdes Ortiz, were also charged and sentenced in connection with the scheme.

Pena was sentenced to 30 months in prison on October 16, 2014. Rivera was sentenced to six months in prison on January 7, 2015. Ortiz was sentenced to three years of probation on January 7, 2015.

The investigation into the scheme was led by the IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General.

Hernandez is represented by Roy Greenman Esq. of Union, New Jersey.

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