Nov 14, 2008 1:29 pm US/Mountain
Illegal Immigrants Accused Of Getting Tax Refunds
Investigators Suspect Stolen Social Security Numbers Used
Reporting
Mike Hooker

GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) ― Investigators in Weld County are going after hundreds of people who are accused of using fake identification and social security numbers to get millions of dollars in federal tax refunds.

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said the cases are linked through Amalia's Translation and Tax Services at 1501 9th St. in Greeley. A search warrant was obtained for records at the business.

"It shows the depth of the immigration issue here in the United States," Buck said. "If with one tax return preparer we can find 1,300 tax returns filed by illegal immigrants and $2.6 million in payments by the IRS to illegal immigrants, it is just amazing."

The business itself is not in any trouble with investigators, but the owner said she felt it was unfairly targeted because of its Latino clients and questioned the authority of local police to seize federal tax documents.

Buck said there are 1,338 possible cases of using stolen and/or fake social security numbers and identity theft.

Fifteen suspects were arrested Wednesday and Thursday, and teams will work Friday and through this weekend to pick up more suspects they believe were living here with stolen identities. Authorities plan arrests for the rest of the year and much of 2009.

A total of 98 arrests warrants have been requested to this point.

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