Woman Sentenced for Stolen Identity Refund Scam

DOHAN, ALABAMA – 32-year-old Nina Macena has been sentenced to 34 months in prison for her role in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme.

In a joint statement, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Larry Wszalek and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. announced that Macena was found guilty of conspiring to defraud the government through the filing of false tax returns, three counts of wire fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

On July 16, a jury delivered a guilty verdict against Macena after a trial in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. The court also ordered Macena to pay restitution in the amount of $109,480.

According to court documents and evidence, Macena provided stolen identities to Ivory Bolen, who used the identities to file false tax returns that fraudulently requested refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Bolen would attempt to have the refunds deposited onto prepaid debit cards, which would be mailed to addresses controlled by Bolen and Macena.

Macena obtained the identities from Roderick Neal, a former bail bondsman in Dothan, who had access to the personal information of individuals who had been detained at the Dothan City Jail. Bolen and Neal previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme.

Macena testified in her own defense at trial, admitting that she had obtained information from Neal for Bolen, but claimed that she was unaware of the nature of the information. However, the judge found her testimony to be not credible and increased her prison time.

The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, with Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Charles M. Edgar Jr. of the Tax Division prosecuting the case with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.

Altogether, Bolen filed tax returns claiming more than $300,000 in refunds using the stolen identities that Macena provided, but the IRS successfully stopped a number of the fraudulent returns.

The court found that Macena’s actions were a serious breach of trust, and her sentence reflects the severity of her crimes.

This case serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting personal information and the consequences of engaging in stolen identity tax refund fraud.

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