Archive for April 2014

Cops: South Florida Man Uses Victim’s Identities To Cash In Their IRS Refunds BOCA RATON, Fla. – A South Florida man is heading to federal prison in a big Internal Revenue Service fraud case. Prosecutors say 26-year-old Brandon James of Miami got 81 months in prison. They say he was lining his pockets, criss-crossing South…

Florida Man Gets Five Years in Prison for Identity Theft Andrew Ware, 27, of Lauderhill, Fla., was recently sentenced to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in a stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) and access device fraud scheme. Ware previously pled guilty to one count…

Online identity theft on the rise, survey says SEBRING – Online identity theft appears to be affecting more Americans, according to a January 2014 Pew Research Center survey. Almost one in five online adults has reported theft of personal information, such as Social Security numbers and credit card or bank account information, the survey says,…

Task force established to fight identity theft Naples ranks No. 2 in the country for complaints Identity theft has stealthily become an epidemic in Southwest Florida, local law enforcement officials and fraud experts say. There were about 12.6 million such crimes in 2013 in the United States, with no state reporting more than Florida, according to…

How to Avoid Tax-Return Identity Theft Thousands of Americans will not get their tax refunds this year — not because they don’t deserve them, but because identity thieves will have already filed tax returns under their names. All a scammer needs to steal your identity and your tax refund is your name and your Social…

ID thieves may use your info to apply for unemployment checks Tallahassee, Florida – Imagine your employer telling you someone has applied for unemployment benefits in your name. It’s happening in Florida thousands of times a year. 10 Investigates the number of fraudulent employment claims and finds some personal information is easily available. Identity theft…

Tax refund fraud is a big frustration for victims TOLEDO, Ohio — Laura Hankins knew something was wrong when she filed her daughter’s tax return and it was rejected hours later: An identity thief already had sent in a return using the 19-year-old’s personal information. “This is the first time in her life she has…

Florida brothers sent to prison for $1.6 million tax refund fraud scheme MIAMI — Two South Florida brothers will be doing federal prison time for a scheme that netted them $1.6 million in fraudulent tax refunds. A federal judge on Friday sentenced 25-year-old Geto Dorlizier of Boynton Beach to more than nine years behind bars.…

Mailman, lunch lady busted in South Florida tax-ID theft roundup TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It’s tax-time, which means it’s open season for Florida fraudsters. Thursday, the good guys got even. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced 25 people involved in 19 separate schemes were charged with stealing identities. Thousands of identities…