Alabama Husband And Wife Use An Identity Theft Scheme Used To Fund Their Gambling Activities

Montgomery, Alabama - Mary Young, 48 years old, and Christian Young, 49 years old, both of Wetumpka, each pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft for their role in a Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (“SIRF”) scheme, announced George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.

According to court documents, between January 2010 and June 2012, Mary Young, Christian Young, Octavious Reeves, and others obtained stolen identities from individuals and used those stolen identities to file false tax returns. The false returns were filed from the Young’s residence and the conspirators directed the unlawful refunds to prepaid debit cards in the names of the identity theft victims. Mary Young, Christian Young, and others used the prepaid debit cards to withdraw the fraudulent proceeds.

In total, the scheme generated over $400,000 in fraudulent tax refunds. Mary Young and Christian Young used a substantial amount of the illicit proceeds to fund their gambling activities. Between 2010 and 2012, the Youngs lost nearly $200,000 at casinos in Alabama.

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Mary Young and Christian Young both face a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of twelve years in prison, along with three years of supervised release, restitution, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the loss caused by the offense. Reeves previously pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on February 19, 2014.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler, Charles Edgar, Jr., and Gregory Bailey of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at justice.gov/tax.

PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: usaalm.press@usdoj.gov
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617