April 22, 2016

An Austell, Georgia husband and wife pleaded guilty to charges relating to their involvement in a stolen identity income tax refund fraud scheme. Anthony Alika, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. His wife Sonia Alika, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of illegally structuring cash withdrawals to evade bank reporting requirements. In January 2016, Anthony Alika and Sonia Alika were charged with laundering the proceeds from a stolen identity refund fraud scheme. The indictment alleged that Anthony Alika, along with Rapheal Atebefia, 33, of Austell, Georgia, obtained means of identification of actual individuals, including their names and social security numbers, and used this information to access the IRS “Get Transcript” database. The indictment further alleged that Anthony Alika, Atebefia, and others obtained prepaid debit cards from stores located in multiple states, registered the cards in the names of the stolen identities, filed false income tax returns using the stolen identities and information obtained from the Get Transcript database, and directed the IRS to deposit the tax refunds onto these cards. DOJ

Tagged in: Tax Fraud,