NEW YORK
A federal judge Wednesday sentenced a 34-year-old Arizona woman to six years in prison for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft involving false tax returns, according to authorities.
The tax-fraud scheme resulted in the theft of more than $400,000 from the IRS, officials said.
Elaine Monique Zavalla-Charres, 34, of Winslow, Arizona, was also ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $411,309.
The fraud scheme occurred in 2011 through 2013.
Officials said a co-defendant of Zavala-Charres, Lacey Hollinger, 27, of Massena, New York, contacted Massena-area residents via Facebook and other electronic media to tell them they were eligible for a tax refund, even though they were unemployed and had no income, as part of a U.S. government “stimulus program.”
No such program existed, authorities said.
Several dozen responded, giving Hollinger their personal identification information: date of birth, social security number, etc., officials said.
Authorities said Hollinger forwarded this information to Zavala-Charres, who used it to create false and fraudulent tax returns that, with others obtained from Arizona residents, generated over $400,000 in tax refunds.
Zavala-Charres, Hollinger and others involved in the fraud scheme stole these funds after they were electronically deposited in bank accounts in Arizona.
The Massena-area residents never saw the tax returns, which falsely represented that they were self-employed and entitled to a refund.
Some received pre-paid debit cards that Zavala-Charres directed to them through the U.S. mail. Many got nothing, with Zavala-Charres and Hollinger keeping most of the refund money, officials said.
On May 22, 2013, officials said IRS-CI special agents executed a search warrant at the former residence of Zavala-Charres in Phoenix resulting in the recovery of a computer used to create and file the fraudulent tax returns and numerous other documents used in the scheme.
Co-defendant Hollinger was sentenced on May 22 to three years, authorities said.
“People who use identity theft to steal money by filing fake tax returns hurt honest taxpayers and cost the United States billions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. “Cross-country crime connections cannot be allowed to evade the reach of the law. This was a serious crime warranting significant jail sentences and full restitution.”