DOJ: Alabama Man Used Prisoner IDs To File $19 Million In Fraudulent Tax Returns

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An Alabama man allegedly used stolen IDs from prisoners to file 7,000 tax returns with the IRS to obtain $19 million in fraudulent refunds. He also recruited U.S. Postal employees as part of the tax refund scheme.

Anthony Gosha, also known as Boo Boo, and several co-conspirators were charged with conspiring to file fraudulent refund claims, mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned the indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday.

The indictment alleges that Gosha used IDs of inmates from the Alabama Department of Corrections. His co-conspirators also obtained IDs from multiple sources including the Alabama Department of Public Health. They also obtained several electronic filing identification numbers in the names of sham tax preparation business to file the fraudulent tax returns.

The scheme took place for during a three-year period between November 2010 and December 2013.

Gosha and his co-conspirators directed the Internal Revenue Service to issue the refunds to prepaid debit cards, U.S. Treasury checks and financial institutions, the indictment stated.

In addition,U.S. Postal Service employees were recruited to provide addresses on their mail routes so the fraudulent refund checks could be received.

Gosha and co-conspirators Tracy Mitchell, Latasha Mitchell, Dameisha Mitchell, Keshia Lather, Mequetta Snell-Quick, Tamika Floyd, Elizabeth Grant, and others, according to the indictment, “unlawfully and knowingly agreed, combined, and conspired with others, both known and unknown to the grand jury, and each other to defraud the United States by obtaining and aiding to obtain the payment and allowance of false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims.”

Gosha faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy county and 20 years for each count of wire and mail fraud. He also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for each aggravated identify theft count.

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