NORCROSS, Ga. - A federal jury has convicted a Norcross man after a one-week trial for his role in stealing government funds and laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds obtained through identity theft.
What we know:
On June 5, a federal jury found 41-year-old Festus Anyiam of Norcross, Georgia, guilty of four counts of theft of government funds and one count of money laundering. The conviction followed a one-week trial in federal court.
The criminal scheme dates back to 2015, when the IRS received fraudulent tax returns claiming refunds that utilized the stolen personally identifiable information of taxpayers living in Illinois and Missouri. The fraudulent returns directed the IRS to send the refund payments to a third-party tax preparation software company. The company then deposited the refunds into prepaid debit cards that had been activated using the victims' stolen personal details. Once the cards were loaded with the stolen funds, they were used to purchase money orders from various retail stores across the Atlanta area.
During a three-week window between June and July 2015, Anyiam utilized ATMs throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area to deposit hundreds of those fraudulent money orders directly into his personal bank account. To hide the true source of the illicit funds, Anyiam subsequently attempted to clear the proceeds from his account by purchasing a cashier’s check for $406,000 and depositing it at a completely separate bank.
What we don't know:
Federal authorities have not confirmed the exact total number of identity theft victims whose data was compromised or specified which local retail stores were used to purchase the money orders. It also remains unknown if any additional co-conspirators are facing charges or if a restitution amount has been finalized ahead of the official sentencing hearing.
What they're saying:
Federal officials and investigators emphasized their ongoing commitment to protecting taxpayers and hunting down financial fraudsters.
"This defendant attempted to conceal his brazen theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent tax refund payments by converting the stolen refunds into money orders and then transferring the cashed money orders into accounts he controlled," U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated. "My office will always pursue wrongdoers who steal from the tax system and attempt to conceal their wrongdoing."
William Steenson, the special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, St. Louis Field Office, echoed those sentiments following the verdict.
"This verdict is a victory for the U.S. tax system. It should send a message to would-be thieves that IRS-Criminal Investigation and its law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue those who seek to enrich themselves on the backs of U.S. taxpayers," Steenson said. "No matter how many steps a thief takes to hide their ill-gotten gains, our special agents will track them down and bring them to justice."
What's next:
Anyiam is scheduled to face sentencing on September 10 at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen.
The court has the authority to sentence the defendant to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment on each of the individual theft counts, alongside a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment for the money laundering count. In determining the final sentence, the judge will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges for offenders.
The investigation was handled by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sekret T. Sneed and Daniel Grill are prosecuting the case.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from court information and trial documentation provided by U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, alongside official enforcement statements from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.