Thread: CO - Immigrant ID Fraud, Tax Case Gets Scrutiny

Immigrant ID Fraud, Tax Case Gets Scrutiny
DA Accused Of Violating Privacy Rights

POSTED: 1:13 pm MST March 7, 2009


GREELEY, Colo. -- He's been accused of violating privacy rights and targeting Latinos with an identity theft investigation focusing on federal tax payments by undocumented immigrants.

But Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck dismisses the perception he's anti-immigrant and insists his case can be a model for prosecutors around the country.

Buck says many as 1,300 immigrants in this northern Colorado county filed federal tax returns using false or stolen identities. Critics say Buck had no right to seize their tax records and that those charged simply were following U.S. law.

For Buck, that's absurd.

"If you're in this country illegally, and you're working in this country illegally, there may be a requirement that you pay taxes but it's kind of ridiculous," he said in an interview at his Greeley office. "There's a requirement that you enter the country legally. There's a requirement that you only work in the country legally. So why would you feel compelled to file a tax return with the government that's telling you you have to obey these other rules?"

His case, known as Operation Numbers Game, started after a Texas man alerted Weld County authorities that his identity was being used.

Authorities zeroed in on Amalia Cerrillo, owner of a Greeley tax preparation firm widely used by immigrants. They raided her business in October under a warrant signed by Weld County District Judge Marcelo Kopcow, seized more than 1,000 income tax returns allegedly filed by undocumented immigrants, and arrested dozens for identity theft and criminal impersonation.

Buck hopes those charged will be prosecuted and deported.

Jorge Gonzalez-Mayagoitia, an attorney at the Mexican consulate in Denver, said the case is bothersome because of the large number of people accused and because it's happening in Greeley, where more than 250 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a meatpacking plant in 2006.

"So this situation worries us because, as you can imagine, this causes social tension in a hot spot like Greeley," Gonzalez-Mayagoitia said in an interview in Spanish. "It generates fear in the community, terror, and a lot of disinformation."

Gonzalez-Mayagoitia said many of those arrested didn't know why until they came to the consulate for guidance.

Undocumented immigrants now are wondering whether they should file tax returns, said Julien Ross, director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. Ross said the case could prompt immigrants across the country to stop paying.

Anyone who earns income in the U.S. is required to pay taxes regardless of their legal status. People without a Social Security number can get an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service to meet that requirement.

Mike Glade, an attorney representing Cerrillo, has said that's what those arrested were doing. Others supporting immigrants in the case say they were sometimes pulling Social Security numbers out of thin air, not deliberately stealing identities.

Buck argues citizens whose identities were used could get in trouble with the IRS, which can go after them for back taxes.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against Buck and the sheriff's office, demanding they return or destroy the tax files, which it contends are confidential. A hearing on the matter is scheduled Monday.

ACLU attorney Mark Silverstein said the raid on Cerrillo's business "was the equivalent of a house-by-house search of innocent homeowners in order to find a suspect believed to be somewhere in the neighborhood."

But Buck said the confidentiality rule doesn't apply to the seized records.

"The tax return isn't confidential," Buck contended. "It's the tax return in the possession of the IRS that's confidential."

Buck responded to the suit by selling T-shirts that read, "The ACLU Sued My District Attorney & Sheriff." On the back, the shirts say, "Weld County Standing Up For Americans." Proceeds, he said, will help the county pay for the lawsuit.

David Stell, an IRS spokesman, declined to comment on the Greeley case. But he said that only in limited circumstances can tax return information be released to authorities, and the order must come from a federal judge or magistrate.

Another Weld County district judge, James Hartmann Jr., seemed to agree. On Dec. 9, he ruled that no more arrest warrants could be issued if they were based on information from federal tax returns. Hartmann questioned whether a state court had the authority to seize federal tax records.

Since then, Buck started taking the cases to a grand jury out of caution over privacy concerns. The grand jury has filed charges in six cases so far, said district attorney spokeswoman Jennifer Finch. Another 54 cases are pending, and some defendants have pleaded guilty.

Those charged can receive a four-year suspended prison sentence if they comply with deportation proceedings, Finch said. The penalty for identity theft can range from 2 to 6 years in prison; for criminal impersonation, up to 18 months.

In his four years as district attorney in Weld County, where about a third of the population is Latino, Buck's tough stance on illegal immigration has earned him a reputation for being anti-immigrant. Cerrillo, who has not been charged, has said she thinks her business was picked because of her last name, not because of any suspicion of wrongdoing.

Buck said it pains him that people view him that way.

"I think it is terribly unfair to say that I'm anti-immigrant and I think that it is a way that people are trying to frame the issue," he said. "I have a very deep sympathy for the people who are coming to this country to better their lives."

Fellow prosecutors in the Southwest are following the case closely, Buck added.

"I think we did the right thing," he declared.


Previous Stories:
February 9, 2009: Weld County DA Takes Jab At ACLU With T-Shirts
November 14, 2008: Weld Co. Probe Focuses On Illegal Tax Refunds

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18 ... etail.html

So this situation worries us because, as you can imagine, this causes social tension in a hot spot like Greeley," Gonzalez-Mayagoitia said in an interview in Spanish. "It generates fear in the community, terror, and a lot of disinformation."

It only crates fear for those that are illegally in this country. There is NO disinformation. we already know they use false documentation for other purposes then filing an income tax. Social Tension is here no matter what other laws are enforced against millions of ILLEGAL ALIENS .

targeting Latinos

That is who is at the base of the investigation

Mike Glade, an attorney representing Cerrillo, has said that's what those arrested were doing. Others supporting immigrants in the case say they were sometimes pulling Social Security numbers out of thin air, not deliberately stealing identities.

NOT DELIBERATELY? There's a new twist on law......they didn't mean to!