3 men charged in $74M tax refund scheme, authorities say

ATLANTA - Federal authorities raided a College Park gas station Wednesday as part of a major investigation into a $74 million tax fraud and money-laundering scheme.

IRS raid at College Park station

What we know:

Federal agents with the IRS executed search warrants Wednesday at a BP gas station and convenience store on West Fayetteville Road.

U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said the gas station also operates as a check-cashing business.

Millions taken in tax fraud scheme

By the numbers:

A federal grand jury indicted three men last week in connection with the multi-year operation:

• $74 million: The total amount of fraudulent tax money  allegedly stolen over several years.
• 16,000: The approximate number of federal U.S. Treasury refund checks the suspects allegedly received.

How the scheme operated

The backstory:

Investigators said Gustavo Rojano Salazar, Gabriel Rojano Salazar and Andres Huerta Rendon submitted hundreds of fake tax returns starting in January 2019.

U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg says suspects obtained identification documents from Mexico to secure Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) from the IRS. Hertzberg says they used those numbers to file fake returns and receive refund checks. The U.S, Attorney says the men brought the treasury checks to the College Park convenience store to cash them, taking tens of millions of dollars in cash.

Suspects face federal charges

What's next:

The three men were arraigned Wednesday on charges including mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

All three suspects are Mexican citizens. Two of them face immigration charges. Federal officials said the arrests are part of a larger national initiative targeting fraud. A convenience store employee declined to comment on the raid.

AtlantaCrime and Public SafetyNews