Jeremy Orr, Tax Evasion Scheme, California 2015

OAKLAND – Jeremy Orr, 36, of Richmond, California, is headed to federal prison for thirty months after admitting to a brazen scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. The sentence, handed down today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, closes a case that’s been grinding through the courts since 2015.

Orr pleaded guilty back in March of 2019 to one count of wire fraud, admitting he orchestrated a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. Treasury. The feds say Orr wasn’t working alone, but his role was central to a network that pilfered personal identification information from individuals across the Bay Area. He then used that stolen data to file over 200 bogus federal income tax returns.

The returns, filed in 2011, were riddled with false claims – fabricated wages, bogus education expenses, and a whole lot of lies. The result? A claimed $335,142 in fraudulent tax refunds. Federal prosecutors detailed how Orr electronically submitted these false returns, attempting to pocket the ill-gotten gains. A federal grand jury initially indicted Orr on January 15, 2015, with four counts of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) and four counts of aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028A), but those additional charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

This wasn’t a victimless crime. While the IRS ultimately recovered some of the funds, the scheme relied on the theft of identities, potentially ruining the credit and financial standing of unsuspecting individuals. The investigation, spearheaded by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, took years to unravel.

Judge White didn’t just hand down a prison sentence. He also ordered a three-year period of supervised release following Orr’s incarceration. Orr has already been in custody since June 12, 2018, meaning his prison term begins immediately. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Olivera, along with Jessica Rodriguez Gonzalez and Katie Turner, prosecuted the case, bringing a measure of justice to a calculated attempt to cheat the system.

This case serves as a stark reminder that tax fraud, no matter how elaborate, will be pursued by federal authorities. The IRS-CI continues to work tirelessly to identify and prosecute individuals like Orr who attempt to exploit the tax system for personal gain, and the Department of Justice, under United States Attorney David L. Anderson, will continue to prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law.

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