U.S. Attorneys unsealed the indictments of three Nigerian nationals they say stole personal information and IRS W-2 forms as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain income tax refunds.
Federal officials on Wednesday unsealed indictments against three Nigerian nationals who face felony charges for their alleged involvement in a scheme to steal income tax refunds using identity theft.
Feds said in a statement that the trio"gained unauthorized access to internet accounts of thousands of individual victims" before stealing PIN numbers and IRS W-2 forms that they later used to file for the fraudulent refunds. They are said to have obtained unauthorized access to 1,200 accounts from an unnamed Minnesota company that offers businesses payroll and human resources services.
Officials say W-2 forms and personal information were stolen and used by fraudsters attempting to collect approximately $16.4 million in income tax refunds.The three defendants are also said to have breached Department of Education accounts of the victims by exploiting an online tool intended to transfer information between the DOE and the IRS. That information was also used to prepare and electronically file the bogus returns, officials say.
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