7 Cubans arrested in theft of $9M in IRS scheme
Seven Cuban nationals were arrested Tuesday in Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla., in connection with a nationwide scheme to steal nearly $9 million from unsuspecting taxpayers, including a number of Arkansans, by impersonating IRS agents, federal authorities announced Wednesday.
The seven and an Orlando man who remained at large Wednesday were added to an indictment handed up June 8 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas. The superseding indictment was handed up on April 4 but remained sealed until Wednesday.
“This fraud scheme has victimized thousands of innocent people all across the country, including a number of citizens here in Arkansas,” acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris said in a news release. “These defendants pretended to be government employees and scared victims with spurious threats of legal action and imprisonment, and in doing so sought to take advantage of the most vulnerable among us.”
Harris, who announced the updated indictment and the arrests, along with officials from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Administration, added, “This indictment reflects our commitment to protecting our citizens from fraud, and holding accountable those who steal from honest citizens.”
According to the announcement, people purporting to be IRS employees would call and threaten victims with legal action, arrest and imprisonment for a supposed debt owed to the IRS. It said the callers “made these threats and used other methods of intimidation” to persuade the victims to wire money through wire-transfer services.
“No legitimate employee of the United States Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service will demand that anyone make payments via MoneyGram, Western Union, Walmart-2-Walmart Money Transfer, or any other money wiring method, for any debt to the IRS or the Treasury Department,” said J. Russell George, treasury inspector general.
George called the scammers “relentless,” noting that in the last three years the scam has resulted in reported taxpayer losses of more than $55 million. But he said investigators are also relentless and “will not rest until we have brought those responsible for this scheme to justice.”
The original Arkansas indictment charged Jeniffer Valerino Nunez and Dennis Delgado Caballero with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 21 separate counts of wire fraud. They were arrested in Miami on May 23 and remain in federal custody.
The new indictment adds eight names, seven of which were arrested in Tuesday’s roundup in south Florida and an eighth who remains at large. All are charged with wire-fraud conspiracy.
Wire-transfer collections related to the scheme have been located in 28 other states besides Arkansas and the District of Columbia, according to the news release. Altogether, it said, investigators have identified 7,797 victims nationwide for a total discovered loss of $8,958,995.71.
Wire fraud and wire-fraud conspiracy are both punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.