There’s a follow-up to a case first reported in May.
A former assistant band director pled guilty for his participation in an identity theft tax fraud scheme involving former Broward County students and other individuals’ personal identifying information (PII).
Delvis Demaine Rogers, 27, of Hollywood, Florida, pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). As part of his plea agreement, the defendant agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $129,321. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison for the unauthorized access devices charge, and a mandatory term of two years in prison, consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, for the aggravated identity theft charge.
According to court documents, IRS-CI investigators noticed that 419 suspicious tax returns claiming refunds totaling $754,470 were filed from Rogers’ residential address from January 25, 2014 to April 20, 2014. Based on this information, a search warrant was executed at Rogers’ residence and agents discovered and seized papers, notes, and documents containing thousands of PII (including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers) including PII contained in records of more than a dozen Broward County School District students, some dating back to the late 1990s and others into the late 2000s. Agents also seized numerous printed 2013 tax returns.
Agents interviewed Rogers during the execution of the search warrant and he admitted to having prepared and filed hundreds of fraudulent tax returns without the permission of the people in whose names they were filed. Rogers further admitted that he electronically submitted the filings from his apartment. Rogers advised that he was employed as the band director at a school in Opa Locka, Florida, and that he previously was the assistant band director at a high school in Plantation, Florida.
Rogers is scheduled to be sentenced on October 23, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. before United States District Judge James I. Cohn.
SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida