NEWARK, N.J.
Two men were charged with running a prison tax scam by filing false federal income tax returns for inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility.
The refunds were used by inmates to pay for attorneys, bail and other expenses, according to officials.
Reginald Eaford, 45, and Winfred Moses, 48, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Both defendants, who reside in East Orange, N.J., are currently in custody.
Eaford was an inmate at the Essex County Jail from approximately May 20, 2013 through Feb. 12, 2014.
Eaford and Moses would then generate false W-2 forms indicating that the inmates had earned income during the relevant tax year and that federal income tax had been withheld from their paychecks.
Eaford and Moses would then file false federal income tax returns on behalf of the inmates and refund checks would be sent to the Essex County Jail or to Moses’s East Orange residence. The proceeds of the fraud were split among Eaford, Moses, and the relevant inmates.
From Jan. 28, 2014 to April 22, 2014, 60 tax returns were filed in the same manner using an IP address registered at Moses’s residence, for a total of $368,557 in fraudulently-obtained tax refunds.
The majority of those fraudulent tax returns were for current or former inmates of the Essex County Jail.
Of the 60 tax returns, 24 listed Moses’s residence as the taxpayer’s address and 59 of the 60 tax returns contained W-2 forms that did not match IRS records.
Law enforcement became aware that during his incarceration, Eaford deposited unusually large amounts of money into his inmate account.
According to current or former inmates at the Essex County Jail, the fraudulent tax proceeds were used by inmates to pay for bail, lawyers, or other needs.
For example, on Nov. 2, 2013, Eaford placed a telephone call from the Essex County Jail to Moses. The call was recorded by the Essex County Jail.
During the call, Eaford and Moses discussed the refund status for a tax return filed using a social security number belonging to an inmate at the Essex County Jail identified only as “Inmate 1.”
IRS records indicate that Inmate 1’s 2013 tax return was filed electronically on March 18, 2014 by an individual using an IP address registered at Moses’s residence, according to officials.
In addition, Inmate 1’s 2013 tax return included a bogus W-2 form that claimed that Inmate 1 had earned $70,021 in wages, even though he had not received any W-2 form from any employer that year.
The conspiracy charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. The aggravated identity theft charges carries a sentence of up to two years in prison.