DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Former Montgomery Nightclub Owner Sentenced to Prison for Role as Ringleader of Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Dissent

Tarrish Tellis, 38, owned the Club Iconz Bar and Grill in Montgomery, Alabama. He was also the mastermind behind a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme that stole over $700,000. Yesterday, Tellis was sentenced to 223 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $694,366 in restitution.

On Jan. 14, a federal jury convicted Tellis of conspiracy to commit theft of public money, theft of public money and aggravated identity theft.

According to evidence presented at trial, Tellis’ co-conspirator, Nakia Jackson, obtained approximately 700 names, dates of birth and social security numbers from an employee of the Alabama Medicaid State Agency.  Jackson provided some of the stolen names to Tellis, who in turn used them to file false income tax returns.  In exchange, Tellis taught Jackson how to file false tax returns.

Tellis concealed the origin of the tax refund proceeds by recruiting friends and relatives, including Bobby Joe Means, Delancey Tolliver, Glen Powell Jr. and Tracey Montgomery, to open up bank accounts for the purpose of receiving the tax refunds.  When the refunds were deposited into their bank accounts, Tellis directed them to withdraw the money and provide it to him.  On the false tax returns submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Tellis directed more than $300,000 in refunds to be deposited in those accounts.  Tellis also recruited a bank teller at Community Bank and Trust , LaQuanta Clayton, who used her position to open up bank accounts in the name of fictitious individuals and in the name of her daughter’s father.  On the false tax returns submitted to the IRS, Tellis directed approximately $200,000 in refunds to be deposited into the accounts that Clayton controlled.

In 2014, Tellis’ co-conspirators were sentenced to prison for their involvement in the scheme: Jackson was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison, Clayton was sentenced to serve 21 months, Tolliver was sentenced to serve 15 months, Powell Jr. and Means were each sentenced to serve 12 months and one day, and Montgomery was sentenced to serve six months in prison.

SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Alabama

Related:

  • France Travail: At least 340,000 job seekers victims of new hack
  • Two more entities have folded after ransomware attacks
  • Inquiry launched after identities of SAS soldiers leaked in fresh data breach
  • Michigan ‘ATM jackpotting’: Florida men allegedly forced machines to dispense $107K
  • Government will 'robustly defend' compensation claims from Afghans put at risk by data breach
  • Missouri Adopts New Data Breach Notice Law
Category: Government SectorID TheftInsiderU.S.

Post navigation

← Randall Charles Tucker accused of hacking Arizona Department of Child Safety
TheRealDeal Market: where hackers go to buy and sell zero-day exploits →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Scattered Spider Hijacks VMware ESXi to Deploy Ransomware on Critical U.S. Infrastructure
  • Hacker group “Silent Crow” claims responsibility for cyberattack on Russia’s Aeroflot
  • AIIMS ORBO Portal Vulnerability Exposing Sensitive Organ Donor Data Discovered by Researcher
  • Two Data Breaches in Three Years: McKenzie Health
  • Scattered Spider is running a VMware ESXi hacking spree
  • BreachForums — the one that went offline in April — reappears with a new founder/owner
  • Fans React After NASCAR Confirms Ransomware Breach
  • Allianz Life says ‘majority’ of customers’ personal data stolen in cyberattack (1)
  • Infinite Services notifying employees and patients of limited ransomware attack
  • The safe place for women to talk wasn’t so safe: hackers leak 13,000 user photos and IDs from the Tea app

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Congress tries to outlaw AI that jacks up prices based on what it knows about you
  • Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature is now blocked by Brave and AdGuard
  • Trump Administration Issues AI Action Plan and Series of AI Executive Orders
  • Indonesia asked to reassess data privacy terms in new U.S. trade deal
  • Meta Denies Tracking Menstrual Data in Flo Health Privacy Trial
  • Wikipedia seeks to shield contributors from UK law targeting online anonymity
  • British government reportedlu set to back down on secret iCloud backdoor after US pressure

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.