Natoya Mashea Handy, 30, of Miami, was convicted on April 12 for her participation in a tax refund scheme using stolen identities. She was one of the 40 people charged in October 2012, as part of law enforcement’s crackdown on tax refund fraud schemes.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on or about April 5, 2012, the defendant was found with at least fifteen (15) social security numbers, names, and dates of birth belonging to persons who were formerly or presently incarcerated by the state of Florida. The trial testimony and evidence further showed that fraudulent tax returns were filed for tax year 2011 for seventeen (17) of the individuals whose social security numbers the defendant possessed. Each of these fraudulent tax returns fraudulently claimed entitlement to a refund, amounting to thousands of dollars in fraud.
The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not indicate which state database(s) may have been breached to support the fraudulent activity.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida.