March 14, 2014 (The Wall Street Journal) — Not even the nation’s top law-enforcement officer is safe from the growing number of fraudsters filing false tax returns based on stolen identities.
Two Georgia men filed a tax return with the name, birthday and social security number of Attorney General Eric Holder in hopes of getting his refund, according to federal prosecutors in Atlanta. Mr. Holder was one of several people targeted by Yafait Tadesse and Eyaso Abebe, both of whom have pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme.
Fraudulent income tax returns are a growing problem that Mr. Holder’s Justice Department is working to combat. Typically, perpetrators steal the personal information of victims, fill out returns that would entitle them to a refund, then file them electronically.
“Identity theft affects people from all walks of life, from hardworking taxpayers trying to make ends meet, to senior government officials,” said Sally Quillian Yates, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
A spokesman for Mr. Holder declined to comment on his case.
In the Atlanta case, Messrs. Tadesse and Abebe filled out returns saying that all of their victims worked at Wal-Mart and had similar incomes, according to prosecutors. Some of the refunds were paid out, but others were stopped.
The refund claimed by the two men in Mr. Holder’s name wasn’t paid out, a spokesman for the Atlanta U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Attorneys for the two men didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
CARROLLTON, Ga. — A Georgia man has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for filing fraudulent income tax returns under several stolen identities, including that of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Yafait Tadesse pleaded guilty in November to stealing government funds. He will spend three years on supervised release after getting out of prison, and must also pay more than $4,000 in restitution to the IRS.
According to information presented in court, Tadesse, 21, and co-defendant Eyaso Abebe stole the identities of at least 10 victims. They used the information to file fake tax returns, claiming all the victims worked at Walmart and earned similar wages.
The defendants requested the fraudulent refunds be loaded onto prepaid debit cards. U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said the cards were mailed to Tadesse’s Carrollton apartment, and surveillance video taken inside a Carroll County store showed Tadesse making a purchase with one of the cards.
One of the stolen identities belonged to Holder. Yates said the defendants found Holder’s name, date of birth and Social Security number on the Internet.
“It does not matter your political position, economic status or social standing — you are susceptible to identity theft. No one is immune,” IRS Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot said in a release.
Tadesse and Abebe’s other victims live throughout the United States. One victim wrote the sentencing judge a letter that said at the time of the crime, his wife was pregnant with the couple’s seventh child. The defendants created a financial burden for the couple by preventing them from receiving a legitimate tax refund, according to the letter. source ( http://ayyaantuu.com/horn-of-africa-news/prosecutors-fraudsters-yafait-tadesse-and-eyaso-abebe-filed-fake-tax-return-as-eric-holder/ )
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