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Man Sentenced to Prison After "Claiming Thousands of Dollars In Fraudulent Refunds"

Man Sentenced to Prison After "Claiming Thousands of Dollars In Fraudulent Refunds"

An Illinois man has been sentenced to 29 months in prison after stealing numerous identities and "claiming thousands of dollars in fraudulent refunds" from the IRS.

According to an official release from the Department of Justice, Wilmer Alexander Garcia Meza, of Waukegan, Illinois used numerous other individuals' identifying personal details -- such as names, dates of births, and foreign passports -- to obtain ITINs from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are provided to USA residents who do not have, or are unable to obtain Social Security numbers, for whatever reason. 

The DOJ noted specifically:

From 2013 through 2017, Garcia used the ITINs to file tax returns in the name of the stolen identities, claiming thousands of dollars in fraudulent refunds. Garcia then used identification documents in those same names to cash the refund checks issued by the IRS. In total, Garcia caused a tax loss of approximately $221,923.

After Meza serves his time in prison, he will be required to serve an additional three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $221,923 in restitution to the United States, per the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo.

Meza's prison sentence comes as the IRS prepares for a major revamp -- thanks to an additional $80 billion in funding -- that will see the agency target white collar tax evaders, like late billionaire Robert Brockman who passed away before his trial could begin.

What do you think about Meza's tax fraud sentencing?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

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