Family Members in Alabama Plead Guilty in Million Dollar Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

Several family members, all residents of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Alabama to their involvement in a million dollar stolen identity refund fraud scheme, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.  

 

Veronica Temple and Yolanda Moses both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of theft of public funds and one count of aggravated identity theft. Barbara Murry pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. Douglas Murry pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. Lee Moses and Jeffrey Temple both pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return. Veronica Temple and Yolanda Moses are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2012. Sentencing dates for the other defendants have not been scheduled.

 

“The Tax Division is committed to prosecuting those who steal the personal identities of American taxpayers to commit tax refund fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally. “We continue to work closely with the IRS to protect the public from these criminals.”

 

“Honest and law abiding citizens are frustrated by those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money as well as skirt their own tax obligations,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS-Criminal Investigation. “The U.S. government and the people of the United States will not tolerate the misuse of our nation’s tax system to facilitate identity theft. IRS-Criminal Investigation will use every means available to investigate and bring to justice those who engage in the illegal use of other taxpayer’s information.”

 

On April 25, 2012, Barbara Murry, Douglas Murry, Yolanda Moses, Lee Moses, Veronica Temple, Jeffrey Temple and others were charged in a 33-count indictment by a federal grand jury on a variety of counts stemming from a stolen identity refund fraud scheme. According to court documents, all of the defendants are family members. Barbara Murry owned and operated B & B Weaving Shop, located in Montgomery. B& B Weaving Shop was located in the same building as B & B Tax Service. Barbara Murry’s daughter, Yolanda Moses, owned and operated B & B Tax Service.  

 

The indictment alleges that Veronica Temple and her sister, Yolanda Moses, obtained stolen identities from multiple sources. Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses and others filed false tax returns from B & B Tax Service and from their homes and directed the tax refunds from these returns to be deposited into over ten different bank accounts that were controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators.   Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses and Barbara Murry recruited individuals in order to have false tax refunds deposited into their bank accounts, including Douglas Murry. Between January 2006 and April 2012, the defendants and their co-conspirators directed over 700 false tax refunds claiming in excess of $1.3 million to several bank accounts controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators.  

           

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Jared Morris are prosecuting this case.