Broward County Resident Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Possessing at Least 652 Identities Used in Stolen Identity and Tax Fraud Schemes

A Broward County resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $12,640.35 for possessing at least 652 identities that were used in stolen identity and tax fraud schemes.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Dwayne Flournoy, Chief, Hallandale Beach Police Department (HBPD), made the announcement.

Laveisha Dorray Charles-Coldros, 30, of Miramar, Florida, previously pled guilty to one count of using an unauthorized access device to obtain $1,000 or more, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1029(a)(2), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to court documents, during a vehicle search where Charles-Coldros was the sole occupant, a Hallandale Beach Police Department officer found mail addressed to numerous individuals and a large duffel bag with multiple pieces of paper and notebooks that contained the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of approximately 652 different individuals. Also seized from the duffel bag were 13 debit or visa cards from various banks where some of the real account owners had reported fraud on their accounts.

IRS-CI Special Agents determined that some of the individuals whose personal identifying information (PII) was found in the duffel bag had tax returns filed in their names. The agents interviewed numerous individuals and found that the individuals did not authorize Charles-Coldros to have their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers in her possession, and did not authorize anyone to file a tax return in their names.  Another individual did not authorize Charles-Coldros to have a debit card in his/her name.

According to court documents in a separate, but related, (case #1:16-cr-20055), when Federal Protective Services (FPS) agents advised Charles-Coldros of the outstanding warrant for her arrest related to identity theft, the defendant ran away from the agents and jumped through the opened front-passenger window into another individual’s car. An FPS agent unsuccessfully attempted to pull Charles-Coldros out of the car. Fearing that the other individual, who was already in the driver's seat of the car, would drive away with the defendant in the car, the FPS agent jumped through the opened front-passenger window into the car with his legs dangling out. While in the car, the defendant and other individual repeatedly struck the FPS agent. In this case, Charles-Coldros previously pled guilty to one count of forcibly assaulting and interfering with officers and employees of the United States, and inflicting bodily injury in the commission of the offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 111(a)(1) and (b) and 2. Sentencing is scheduled in this case for July 12, 2016 before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams. The defendant faces a maximum of twenty years in prison for the assault charge.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, United States Secret Service, and the Hallandale Beach Police Department, and thanked Federal Protective Service and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance in this matter. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cynthia R. Wood and Brian J. Shack.   

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.