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March 22, 2022

Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Accessing IRS Systems and Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns

On January 26, 2022, in the Northern District of West Virginia, Keith Joseph pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Joseph devised a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and obtain money by means of false representations.

According to the court documents, from in or around March 18, 2015, and continuing through March 7, 2017, Joseph unlawfully used other individuals’ personal identifying information to access the IRS eAthentication Online Taxpayer System. Joseph used names, dates of birth, and Social Security Numbers of others to obtain income tax transcripts and file Federal income tax returns that claimed refunds were owed. The total amount Joseph claimed from the fraudulent returns was at least $152,948. These returns were processed at an IRS facility in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

As part of the plea agreement, Joseph agreed to pay $142,237 in restitution. He could receive over 20 years’ imprisonment and potentially pay a fine of up to $250,000.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: N.D.W. Va., Plea Agr., filed January 26, 2022; N.D.W. Va., Indict., filed March 17, 2022; and DOJ Press Release published January 26, 2022.