Cranston, R.I. – In a shocking case of identity theft, two tax preparers have been charged with stealing the identities of minors and selling them for tax deductions, defrauding the IRS of over $1.34 million and the State of Rhode Island of over $65,500.
According to court documents, Evelyn Nunez, 40, of Providence, and Tashia Bodden, 37, of Warwick, were arrested earlier today by agents from IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service on federal criminal complaints charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, false claims to the United States, and aggravated identity theft.
Nunez and Bodden, who owned and operated NBP Multiservices, a tax preparation business in Cranston, allegedly stole personal identifying information of minors named as dependents on legitimate tax returns their company prepared and sold the information to other tax filers for use on their tax returns in order to increase tax refunds.
According to court records and information presented to the court, an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that between January 2008 and February 2012, taxpayers allegedly purchased false dependents for approximately $600 – $700 per dependent. Research of the use of dependents allegedly showed that the defendants falsely claimed dozens of children to be foster children, nieces, and nephews of the taxpayers when, in reality, they had no relation to the taxpayer.
The alleged scheme was uncovered by the Scheme Development Center, a division of the IRS, which conducted an analysis of tax returns prepared by individuals working at NBP and identified questionable use of children being claimed as dependents.
A third defendant, Wendy Molina, 39, of Cranston, has been charged by way of an information with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on October 1, 2014.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
A criminal complaint and an information are merely allegations and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Key Facts
- State: Rhode Island
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime|Tax Evasion
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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