Jimenez. known as Melo, operated a tax preparation business in the Bronx, N.Y., From 2009 through 2015, he was found to have sold stolen identifies of minors to his customers so they could claim larger returns. He sold more than a thousand identities in some years and made more than $1 million in personal profits.

A jury convicted Jimenez on the following counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Eight co-conspirator had already pleaded guilty to a variety of charges.

About March 2016 he transferred to his parents several properties purchased with fraud proceeds to his parents for little or no value in an effort to hide his activities. Jimenez and co-conspirators sold ID to be used as phony dependents to customers for between $1,000 and $1,500 each in cash, personally receiving $1,000 in cash for each one sold. In some cases, individuals with children who stolen IDs had tax refunds delayed and were required to prove their right to claim the dependents.