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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    7 Cubans arrested in theft of $9 MILLION in IRS scheme

    7 Cubans arrested in theft of $9M in IRS scheme

    By Linda Satter
    Thursday, April 27, 2017, 9:08 p.m.







    Seven Cuban nationals were arrested Tuesday in Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla., in connection with a nationwide scheme to steal nearly $9 million from unsuspecting taxpayers, including a number of Arkansans, by impersonating IRS agents, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

    The seven and an Orlando man who remained at large Wednesday were added to an indictment handed up June 8 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas. The superseding indictment was handed up on April 4 but remained sealed until Wednesday.


    "This fraud scheme has victimized thousands of innocent people all across the country, including a number of citizens here in Arkansas," acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris said in a news release. "These defendants pretended to be government employees and scared victims with spurious threats of legal action and imprisonment, and in doing so sought to take advantage of the most vulnerable among us."


    Harris, who announced the updated indictment and the arrests, along with officials from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Administration, added, "This indictment reflects our commitment to protecting our citizens from fraud, and holding accountable those who steal from honest citizens."


    According to the announcement, people purporting to be IRS employees would call and threaten victims with legal action, arrest and imprisonment for a supposed debt owed to the IRS. It said the callers "made these threats and used other methods of intimidation" to persuade the victims to wire money through wire-transfer services.


    "No legitimate employee of the United States Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service will demand that anyone make payments via MoneyGram, Western Union, Walmart-2-Walmart Money Transfer, or any other money wiring method, for any debt to the IRS or the Treasury Department," said J. Russell George, treasury inspector general.


    George called the scammers "relentless," noting that in the last three years the scam has resulted in reported taxpayer losses of more than $55 million.

    But he said investigators are also relentless and "will not rest until we have brought those responsible for this scheme to justice."


    The original Arkansas indictment charged Jeniffer Valerino Nunez and Dennis Delgado Caballero with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 21 separate counts of wire fraud. They were arrested in Miami on May 23 and remain in federal custody.


    The new indictment adds eight names, seven of which were arrested in Tuesday's roundup in south Florida and an eighth who remains at large. All are charged with wire-fraud conspiracy.


    Wire-transfer collections related to the scheme have been located in 28 other states besides Arkansas and the District of Columbia, according to the news release. Altogether, it said, investigators have identified 7,797 victims nationwide for a total discovered loss of $8,958,995.71.


    Wire fraud and wire-fraud conspiracy are both punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

    http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2...-of-9m-in-irs/

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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Last edited by JohnDoe2; 07-23-2018 at 02:06 PM.
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    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    I have been getting at least one of these calls a day from spoofed numbers and they leave messages. Their English is so bad and the accents so strong it is almost comical but they have been able to terrorize some of the elderly. It is good to know that these people were caught because of a tip line complaint.


    TIGTA Announces Significant Arrests In Massive IRS Phone Scam


    Kelly Phillips ErbForbes Staff

    May 24, 2016, 05:43pm


    Scammers are still targeting taxpayers. Nearly 6,400 victims have collectively paid over $36.5 million to scammers posing as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials since October of 2013. Over that same time period, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has received reports of roughly 1.2 million calls made to taxpayers demanding that they send cash to resolve outstanding tax liabilities. The average amount of money lost in the scam is $5,700.

    Today, J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), announced the arrests of five individuals made in what has been characterized as an "ongoing investigation" into the scams. The five individuals were arrested in Miami, FL, without incident, and charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the court documents, the five suspects are responsible for almost $2 million in schemes that defrauded more than 1,500 victims.

    The five individuals are Jennifer Valerino Nunez, Dennis Delgado Caballero, Arnoldo Perez Mirabal, Yaritza Espinosa Diaz, and Roberto Fontanella Caballero. The criminal complaints were filed with the following courts: the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on May 18, 2016 (Yaritza Diaz and Roberto Caballero); the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on May 16, 2016 (Arnoldo Mirabal); and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas on May 10, 2016 (Jennifer Nunez and Dennis Caballero).

    According to U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, two of the individuals who were arrested were identified as a direct result of information provided by a fraud investigator with the Aging Committee’s Hotline. That investigator followed up on an incident report filed by a victim in October 2015. The victim had been ordered to wire money to a scammer posing as an IRS agent. The wire transfer was eventually traced to Minnesota and reported to TIGTA. TIGTA then sent agents to Minnesota, who pulled surveillance tapes and identified two suspects: the investigation led them to the three additional suspects.

    "Putting a stop to aggressive and ruthless scams such as the IRS impersonation scam is among my highest priorities as Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee," said Senator Susan Collins. "Thanks to the quick actions of the investigators who staff our Fraud Hotline, the Inspector General has made significant arrests in the fight against a pernicious scam. These actions should also put criminals on notice that we will relentlessly pursue those who seek to rob seniors of their hard-earned savings."

    As part of the typical IRS impersonation scheme, the scammers make phone calls alleging to be from IRS or Department of Treasury. Calls are often made using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology since it's a cheap and easy way to mask the origin of the calls and "trick" your Caller ID to show up as the IRS or other agency. The scammers then advise taxpayers that, due to adjustments made on their individual tax accounts, additional tax is owed to IRS. The scammers demand immediate payment over the phone by cash, wire or services like MoneyGram and Walmart-2-Walmart.

    In a more recent variation of the scam, the scammers demanded payment in iTunes gift cards. iTunes gift cards can be used to make purchases on the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, Mac App Store or to buy Apple Music memberships. Requests for payment on the cards - though it sounds outlandish - were successful: according to TIGTA, at least 328 people paid out a total of $1.4 million to the scammers using iTunes gift cards.

    Timothy Camus, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, called the scheme "the most pervasive impersonation scheme in the 17-year history of TIGTA."

    The investigation remains ongoing. Last year, J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, assured taxpayers that his office was actively pursuing those involved in the fraud, reassuring taxpayers, "[W]e will not rest until all individuals associated with this fraud have been brought to justice."

    Remember that the IRS has previously confirmed they will not:


    • Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you several bills.
    • Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal and financial information.
    • Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
    • Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
    • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or email.
    • Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.


    If you receive such a call and do not owe tax, don't engage with the scammer and do not give out any information. Just hang up.

    If you get an email asking you to visit a website or answer personal questions, do not reply and do not click on any links in the email.

    If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be with the IRS, and you owe tax or think you may owe tax, do not give out any information. Call the IRS back at 1.800.829.1040 to find out more information.

    You can also contact TIGTA to report scam calls by calling 1.800.366.4484 or by using the “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” form on their website. You may also want to report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission by using the “FTC Complaint Assistant” to report persons pretending to be from the government; please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

    Don’t fall for the tricks. Keep your personal information safe this tax season by remaining alert. For tips on protecting yourself from identity theft related tax fraud, click here

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyph.../#538b29de2c77
    Last edited by Newmexican; 07-22-2018 at 08:48 PM.
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    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
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    If we had already passed the FairTax, HR 25 in the US House of Representatives, we wouldn't have to be worrying about any of this or suffer the consequences of these IRS schemes. The need for the FairTax is rapidly becoming a matter of national security. I hope the President sees this, and sees it soon.
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    MW
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    Quote Originally Posted by Judy View Post
    If we had already passed the FairTax, HR 25 in the US House of Representatives, we wouldn't have to be worrying about any of this or suffer the consequences of these IRS schemes. The need for the FairTax is rapidly becoming a matter of national security. I hope the President sees this, and sees it soon.
    http://fairtaxfraud.com/fair.asp

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    Senior Member stoptheinvaders's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MW View Post
    Is link correct?

    It isn't working for me.

    Ignore above. Working now.
    Last edited by stoptheinvaders; 07-23-2018 at 01:15 AM.
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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Newmexican View Post
    . . .
    TIGTA Announces Significant Arrests In Massive IRS Phone Scam

    Kelly Phillips Erb
    Forbes Staff

    May 24, 2016, 05:43pm
    "Newmexican":
    THANKS for the background info.
    I always try to find background info but missed this all together.
    JD2
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