U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

October 2, 2019

Coconspirators Indicted in Connection with Scheme Involving Stolen Federal Tax Refund Checks

On August 26, 2019, in the Southern District of New York, Marlene Tineo, Alejandro Paulino, and Raysette Mercedes were indicted for conspiracy, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme involving the theft of U.S. Treasury checks, to include tax refund checks.

According to court documents, between December 2017 and February 2019, Tineo, Paulino, Mercedes, and others known and unknown, willfully and knowingly conspired to execute a scheme to defraud financial institutions, the deposits of which were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The scheme to defraud was identified when a financial institution identified a pattern of suspicious activity in multiple accounts. Specifically, U.S. Treasury checks, including tax refund and Social Security checks were stolen before reaching their intended recipient. The defendants then opened fraudulent accounts at the bank in the names of the intended recipients of the stolen checks. The fraudulent accounts were opened with apparently fraudulent Dominican Republic identification documents, such as passports, consular cards, and drivers’ licenses, and using forged signatures. The defendants forged the signatures to endorse the stolen checks and deposited these checks into the fraudulent accounts. They then made cash withdrawals to access the stolen funds. Tineo, Paulino, and Mercedes are believed to have accessed bank accounts that held a total of approximately $822,000 in U.S. Treasury checks.

If convicted, Tineo, Paulino, and Mercedes shall be ordered to forfeit to the United States any and all property derived from proceeds obtained as a result of the commission of said offenses. The defendants could each face a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment for bank fraud, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years’ imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: S.D.N.Y. Crim. Compl. filed Jul. 30, 2019; and S.D.N.Y. Indict. filed Aug. 26, 2019.