Income Tax
Bank tellers sentenced for cashing fraud-based IRS tax refund checks
Three people involved in a fraudulent tax-refund scheme were sentenced Thursday in federal court in Orlando for conspiring to defraud the government.
Feb. 22, 2013
Three Florida residents involved in a fraudulent tax-refund scheme were sentenced Thursday in federal court in Orlando for conspiring to defraud the government.
Eliseo Dela Rosa, 38, also known as Eliseo Delarosa, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Dela Rosa, a registered sex offender from Orlando, received tax refunds and stimulus checks to which he was not entitled, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Bank of America tellers Ada Lopez, 39, of Orlando and Ana Torres, 27, of Kissimmee cashed checks for Dela Rosa or deposited them into a checking account and gave the money to Dela Rosa or runners who worked for him, prosecutors said.
Lopez and Torres received a fee from Dela Rosa for each check they cashed. The fraud occurred in 2007 and 2008.
Lopez, who cashed about $244,000 worth of checks, was sentenced to six months of house arrest and four years of probation. Torres, who cashed about $46,000 worth of checks, was sentenced to two years of probation.
All three pleaded guilty in November.
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