Chester Springs couple gets prison time for tax refund scam

PHILADELPHIA >> A Chester County couple has been sentenced to substantial prison time for their role in tax fraud and identity theft scheme that involved the stolen identities of patients at Crozer-Chester-Medical Center and Chester Community Hospital.

Rafael Henriquez Polanco, 32, of Chester Springs, and his wife, Yanira Lopez, 29, sought more than $1.7 million in fraudulent tax refunds by submitting fraudulent tax returns using stolen identities.

Polanco was sentenced on Feb. 17 to 51 months in prison for numerous fraud and narcotics offenses. His wife, Yanira Lopez, 29, was sentenced Tuesday to 48 months in prison. In addition to the prison time, U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg ordered three years of supervised release for each defendant, restitution totaling $447,299 for Lopez and $409,779 for Polanco, and special assessments of $500 and $600 respectively.

“These individuals demonstrated a blatant disregard of the integrity of the United States tax system and caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s office, remain committed to the pursuit of identity theft. We will hold those who engage in similar conduct accountable.”

According to the charging documents, Polanco and Lopez obtained the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of 144 patients of Community Hospital in Chester and Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland by paying employees of the hospitals to steal confidential medical forms.

From January 2008 until September 2011, Polanco and Lopez used the stolen information to file fraudulent individual income tax returns with the IRS claiming fraudulent refunds, according to the charging documents.

In support of the false returns, the defendants submitted phony W-2 forms and listed one of several return addresses in Chester or Philadelphia that they controlled. The defendants filed fraudulent income tax returns for patients, a number of whom were residents of Puerto Rico. Citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico who reside in Puerto Rico are not required to file a U.S. individual income tax return when their income is derived entirely from employment or other sources in Puerto Rico.

Lopez, a former bank teller, and Polanco forged the names of the payees named on the refund checks; other refunds were directly deposited. The monies were deposited into the defendants’ accounts at Susquehanna Bank in West Chester, Bank of America in Brookhaven and Wells Fargo in Exton.

Authorities say that between Feb. 23, 2009, and Sept. 16, 2011, the defendants caused the U.S. Department of the Treasury to issue fraudulent federal tax refund checks totaling $257,710.79.

Lopez also allegedly collected $581 in weekly unem- ployment benefits from the State of Pennsylvania from November 2008 until May 2010, even though she was employed full-time with a Chester County maintenance company, working under the alias “Leslie Serrano.”

The casewas investigated by the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.

It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Brenner and Maureen McCartney.