⏱ 2 min read
A 70-year-old Brockton woman, Lana Ruel, has pleaded guilty to stealing a nearly $1 million United States Treasury tax refund check in Boston. The crime occurred when Ruel attempted to deposit the check, which was issued to a healthcare company in Brooklyn, New York, into a fake account she had set up in the same name. This happened in December 2025, and she was arrested and charged shortly after. Ruel’s motive was to cash in on the refund, but her plan was foiled when the bank froze her account.
Ruel’s scheme involved incorporating multiple companies in Massachusetts, including the one she used to attempt to deposit the tax refund check. She opened bank accounts in the names of these companies and received wire transfers, which she then wired to other accounts or withdrew as cash. However, the banks caught on and closed all of these accounts.
The investigation into Ruel’s activities was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. She is now facing up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Her sentencing is scheduled for October 1, 2026.
Ruel’s case is a prime example of the lengths to which individuals will go to commit financial crimes. Her use of fake companies and bank accounts to try to cash in on a stolen tax refund check is a sophisticated scheme, but ultimately, it was not sophisticated enough to evade detection.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: Massachusetts
- Location: MA
- Source: DOJ Press Release
