Two Bakersfield, Calif., residents, one a tax prepare, have been charged for their alleged scheme to use stolen identifies in seeking more than $25 million in tax refunds.Victor Cruz, the preparer, and Miguel Martinez, have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and submission of false claims to the Internal Revenue Servie. Martinez was also charged with identity theft.
Martinez, who has been in jail since June was in possession of more than $750,000 in tax refund checks and ID cards for more than 200 people.
Between November 2019 and June 2023, the defendants and others were allegedly involved in filing hundreds of fraudulent tax returns. They used stolen IDS to create fake business and reported phony wage and withholding information to the IRS.
