Army Staff Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Using Stolen UMPC Employee IDs to File Four False Income Tax Returns

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Spanaway, Washington, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of False Claims against the United States, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

Justin A. Tollefson, age 26, of Spanaway, Washington, and an enlisted Staff Sergeant in the Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, pleaded guilty to four counts before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.

In connection with the guilty plea, Tollefson used stolen identities of employees at UPMC to file four 2014 false federal income tax returns in which he made claims for tax refunds, which collectively totaled approximately $56,333.

Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for August, 30, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations and the United States Secret Service conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Justin A. Tollefson.