The defendants exploited this information to electronically submit over 370 tax returns that falsely claimed refunds, instructing the IRS to distribute these refunds across multiple prepaid debit cards registered under the names of the victim taxpayers.
Abraham Yusuff, hailing from Round Rock, Texas, has been sentenced to over 14 years in prison for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of more than $110 million. Alongside him, his co-defendants Meghan Inyang from San Antonio and Christopher Eduardo from Round Rock received sentences of over three years and more than two years, respectively. In total, seven individuals have faced prison time for their roles in this fraudulent operation.
“Yusuff and his codefendants secured $30 million in fraudulent refunds from the IRS — and sought even more,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “They stole the identities of honest taxpayers, filed hundreds of returns in those taxpayers’ names seeking bogus refunds and assumed the identities of real-life CPAs and other professionals to trick the IRS into directing the refunds into accounts and debit cards they controlled. The significant sentences handed down by the court reflect not only the injury caused to the Treasury, but also the financial harm and stress the defendants imposed on the innocent taxpayers and accounting professionals swept up in their scheme.”
“Yusuff and co-defendants didn’t just steal money, they stole the lives of hundreds of victims by changing all their contact information with the IRS and posing as authorized representatives for the taxpayers,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office. “This insidious and complex scheme victimized both the real tax professionals and the people they represent, which is why IRS-CI special agents help take down criminal enterprises and put criminals behind bars.”
“Stealing someone’s identity is abhorrent and despicable behavior. This week’s sentencing serves as a stark reminder that fraud and the pursuit of quick gains comes with severe consequences,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of IRS-CI Dallas Field Office.
Court documents and testimonies reveal that between 2018 and 2021, Yusuff orchestrated a stolen-identity-refund-fraud operation alongside Eduardo, Inyang, and others, including Christian Mathurin from Nashville, Dillon Anozie from San Antonio, Babajide Ogunbanjo from Austin, and Aydin Mammadov from Houston.
To circumvent the IRS's fraud detection measures, Yusuff enlisted these individuals to provide him with addresses for receiving various forms of mail, including crucial IRS communications like identity verification letters. Posing as authorized representatives of several taxpayers, Yusuff and his accomplices contacted the IRS using stolen personal information and details from the taxpayers' legitimate tax preparers to mislead the agency into believing they were genuine agents. They then instructed the IRS to update the taxpayers' addresses and redirect their tax-related information, such as account transcripts and wage records, to locations controlled by the defendants. Through Telegram, Yusuff directed his co-conspirators to photograph the IRS mail they received and subsequently ordered them to dispose of it.
The defendants exploited this information to electronically submit over 370 tax returns that falsely claimed refunds, instructing the IRS to distribute these refunds across multiple prepaid debit cards registered under the names of the victim taxpayers. Before processing refunds for certain taxpayers, the IRS sent verification letters to addresses controlled by the defendants. In response, the defendants and accomplices, posing as the taxpayers, urged the IRS to release the refunds.
Yusuff, Inyang, Eduardo, Anozie, Ogunbanjo, and Mammadov acquired the prepaid debit cards intended for receiving the fraudulently claimed refunds. After the refunds were loaded onto these cards, they further obscured the funds by purchasing money orders from local retailers in amounts carefully calculated to evade identification requirements and reporting thresholds.
Additionally, they utilized the prepaid debit cards and money orders to buy high-end clothing, home improvement supplies, and used vehicles at auctions. The defendants retained or received money orders obtained with the fraudulent refunds as their share of the illicit gains.
During the sentencing phase, the government presented victim impact statements from various individuals whose identities had been compromised, including both taxpayers and accountants. These victims shared their experiences of the financial damage and emotional distress inflicted by Yusuff and his co-defendants.
Alongside the prison sentences, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pittman from the Western District of Texas imposed a three-year supervised release on Yusuff and mandated that he pay restitution and a forfeiture judgment totaling $30,370,365. Eduardo received a similar three-year supervised release and was ordered to pay $2,823,377 in restitution to the IRS. Inyang was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, with a restitution payment of $762,512 owed to the IRS.
Judge Pittman had previously handed down prison sentences to the other co-defendants, which included Dillon Anozie (30 months), Aydin Mammadov (18 months), Babajide Ogunbanjo (16 months), and Christian Mathurin (12 months). The investigation was conducted by IRS-CI and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
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