Close X

California Resident Convicted of Supplying Fake IDs to Cash Stolen and Fraudulently Obtained U.S. Treasury Checks

Posted by Fay Arfa | Mar 31, 2017 | 0 Comments

A federal jury sitting in Oakland, California convicted Janel McDonald today for her role in a conspiracy to cash stolen and fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch for the Northern District of California.

McDonald was charged, along with 10 codefendants in November 2015, with conspiracy to commit theft of public money, theft of public money and aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, from August 2013 through April 2015, McDonald's co-conspirators stole deceased individuals' personal identifying information from California death records and used it to file federal tax returns seeking refunds. They also obtained social security and refund checks that were stolen from the U.S. mail system. McDonald provided fake California IDs to her co-conspirators who used them to cash the stolen and fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 1. McDonald faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to commit theft of public money, 10 years in prison for theft of public money and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Stretch thanked special agents of the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Newman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Olivera and Trial Attorney Gregory Bernstein of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division's website.

Conspiracy Used Information from California Death Records to Seek Tax Refunds

Tax Division USAO – California, Northern

Topic: Tax Updated March 30, 2017

Central District of California DOJ / 17-343 / March 30, 2017

About the Author

Fay Arfa

Fay Arfa has the distinction of being Certified as a Specialist in two separate areas of law – Criminal Law as well as Appellate Law – by the California State Bar, Board of Specialization. The National Board of Trial Advocacy has also awarded her a board Certification in Criminal Trial Advocacy. ...

Comments

There are no comments for this post. Be the first and Add your Comment below.

Leave a Comment

Board Certifications



Contact Us Today

Fay Arfa is committed to answering your questions about Trials, Appeals, Habeas Corpus, State Crimes, Federal Crimes, and Sex Crimes law issues in California.

We offer a free telephone consultation and we'll gladly discuss your case with you at your convenience. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.