Veronica Dale and Alchico Grant, who
jointly ran a stolen identity refund fraud ring that attempted to defraud the
United States of millions of dollars over several years, were sentenced to
federal prison today, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
announced. Veronica Dale, of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to 334 months and
Alchico Grant of Lowndes County, Ala., was sentenced to 310 months in
prison. In addition, Dale and Grant
were both ordered to pay over $2.8 million in restitution to the IRS.
In December 2010, Dale and Grant were
originally indicted, along with three others, on various tax and tax-related
charges including aggravated identity theft.
Dale and Grant continued their tax refund fraud while on pretrial
release and as a result, Grant was indicted again in April 2011, and Dale was
later named in a superseding indictment in August 2011. Both were ordered detained following the
second set of indictments and have remained in custody.
On Sept. 14, 2011, Grant pleaded guilty to a
total of five charges from both indictments, including conspiracy, wire fraud
and aggravated identity theft. On Oct. 14, 2011, Dale pleaded guilty to a total
of seven charges from both indictments, including conspiracy, filing false
claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to the first indictment, the plea
agreements and other court documents, beginning in 2009 and continuing through
2010, the defendants were part of a scheme that involved fraudulently obtaining
tax refunds by filing false tax returns using stolen identities. Dale admitted
that she filed over 500 fraudulent returns that sought at least $3,741,908 in
tax refunds. These returns were filed
using the names of Medicaid beneficiaries, whose personal information Dale
obtained while earlier employed by a company that serviced Medicaid
programs. Dale directed the refunds to
different bank accounts that she and other co-conspirators controlled.
Also according to the first indictment, plea
agreements and other court documents, Grant admitted that he opened bank
accounts to receive some of the refunds and recruited others to do the
same. One such recruit opened a bank
account in the name of a business into which more than $1.3 million in
fraudulently obtained tax refunds were deposited. Thereafter, Grant directed distribution of
the proceeds which included having third parties cash checks drawn on the
various accounts and remit the funds to him.
Grant also instructed individuals to lie to law enforcement authorities
when questioned about the checking account activities. Dale and Grant’s
co-defendants – Laquanta Grant, Leroy Howard, and Isaac Dailey – have all
pleaded guilty, as have two other co-conspirators, Wendy Delbridge and Betty
Washington, who pleaded guilty to criminal informations.
The second indictment charged a conspiracy
that involved Dale, Grant, Melinda Clayton, and Stephanie Adams. As court
documents show, this conspiracy extended from January 2011 to April 2011, when
federal agents executed a search warrant at Clayton’s house and arrested her.
In her plea agreement, Dale admitted that this scheme involved a fraud loss of
between $400,000 and $1 million. Dale
admitted to providing Clayton with stolen identities in furtherance of the new
scheme. Clayton stored these and other
lists of stolen identities at her home.
The tax refunds were directed to bank accounts and prepaid debit cards
purchased by Dale and Grant. Dale, Grant, Clayton and Adams all pleaded guilty
to their roles in the second scheme, as did Valerie Byrd, who pleaded guilty to
a criminal information.
“The Justice Department remains
committed to protecting Americans from thieves who would steal their identities
and use them to commit refund fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn
Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Those who commit stolen
identity refund fraud will be punished to the full extent of the law.”
"These sentences once again demonstrate
the wide-spread and destructive nature of identity theft," observed George
Beck, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. "I commend the IRS for their strict
enforcement of these violations of federal laws. Our office remains dedicated to rooting out
those evil wrongdoers who systematically steal taxpayers’ money."
“Identity theft is a despicable crime
that victimizes honest taxpayers and causes immense hardship,” said Richard
Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This sentencing should serve as a
strong warning to those considering similar conduct.”
The cases were investigated by Special
Agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial attorneys Jason H. Poole and
Michael Boteler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the cases, with assistance
from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and in particular Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Todd Brown and Jared Morris.
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