Tennessee Woman Convicted of Stolen ID Refund Fraud

An Antioch, Tennessee, woman was convicted today by a federal jury sitting in Nashville, Tennessee, of eight counts each of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Donald Q. Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, in January and February 2012, Monique Ellis, used stolen IDs, including those of prisoners held by the Alabama Department of Corrections, to file tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeking fraudulent refunds. Ellis directed the fraudulently obtained refunds to bank accounts that she controlled, causing a tax loss of $121,851.10.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2018 before U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin A. Drain. Ellis faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and a mandatory two year sentence for each count of aggravated identity theft. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Cochran thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis, and Trial Attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.