U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced the conviction of three men as part of a nationwide enforcement action led by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, Internal Revenue Service, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation to combat tax fraud and related offenses.
The Northern District of West Virginia played a critical role in this surge effort.
From early September to October 14, the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section and US Attorneys’ Offices across the country took part in the Department’s first-ever National Tax Enforcement Surge.
The increase of nationwide resources resulted in prosecuting actions against 76 defendants whose claimed and confirmed crimes resulted in, or were intended to result in, a federal government income loss of more than $490 million.
“Every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar taken from the American people,” Attorney General Todd Blanche declared. “What we discovered during this focused surge represents merely the top of the iceberg. Because fraudsters have no safe refuge, the Department of Justice is committed to increasing our investigations and uncovering attempts to dodge accountability.
“We have an obligation to the law-abiding citizens of this country to ensure that their hard-earned tax dollars are protected and distributed legally and that those that attempt to defraud the government with tax fraud are held accountable,” Matthew L. Harvey, United States Attorney, stated. “This surge shows the commitment of the Department of Justice Fraud Division, my office, and the IRS to taxpayers in West Virginia and across the country.”
Three Maryland men have pled guilty in the Northern District of West Virginia to a fraud conspiracy involving more than $1 million in US Treasury checks.
They each pled guilty to their involvement in the plan, which was:
- Tijuan Arrington, 49, of Accokeek, Maryland
- David Walters, 47, of Ellicott City, Maryland
- Gregory Dean, 33, of Suitland, Maryland
The defendants collaborated to obtain actual US Treasury checks issued to real people or businesses, forming fictitious firms with similar names, and then obtaining Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) using an Internal Revenue Service portal in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
The three would use the EINs to open company accounts, deposit stolen checks, and rapidly take the monies before the crime was discovered.
Some of the scam was uncovered and stopped before the defendants could withdraw the funds.
The fraud amounted to more than $1.1 million.
Arrington, Walters, and Dean are all facing up to 20 years in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Eleanor Hurney and Greg Jones, and it was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
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