Travis White, Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud, Texas 2023

A massive stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme in Houston, Texas, has come to an end with the sentencing of eight defendants. The scheme, which involved the filing of thousands of fraudulent tax returns claiming over $12 million in refunds, was orchestrated by Travis White, 32, and Jalan Willingham, 35, both of Atlanta, Georgia.

White and Willingham pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. They were sentenced to 200 and 108 months in prison, respectively, for the conspiracy and wire fraud charges, as well as a consecutive 24-month-term of imprisonment on the identity theft charge. Following the total 224 and 132-month-terms, White and Willingham will also serve three years of supervised release.

The other defendants sentenced include Shawn Phillip Thornton, 37, of Atlanta, who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Postal carriers Edward Dwayne Vallier, 42, of Houston, and Tangela R. Jackson-Lezeau, 36, of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 27 and 46 months in prison, respectively.

Calvin Shelton, 39, a postal carrier from Atlanta, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 33 months in prison for the conspiracy and mail fraud charges, and a consecutive 24-month-term of imprisonment for the identity theft charge. Rance Hunter, 31, and Kerry Lionel Ruffin, 32, both of Atlanta, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and aggravated identity theft and were sentenced to 60 and 26 months in prison, respectively.

The court ordered restitution in the total amount of $7,845,652, with the defendants paying varying amounts in accordance with their roles in the scheme. A victim testified at the hearing about the effect the defendants' stealing her identity had on her life, resulting in bad credit and depression.

The case against a ninth defendant, Dwayne Biggs, was transferred to the Northern District of Georgia. He pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Postal Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) praised the partnership between federal law enforcement agencies that brought down the fraud conspiracy.

The investigation, which spanned from 2010 to 2013, revealed that the defendants used stolen personal identifying information to file thousands of fraudulent tax returns claiming over $12 million in refunds. The National Treasury paid out over $7 million before the scheme was discovered.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/eight-sentenced-massive-stolen-identity-tax-refund-fraud-scheme