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September 30, 2021

IRS Employee Found Guilty of Access Device Fraud

On July 17, 2021, in the Eastern District of Virginia, Kwashie Senam Zilevu was found guilty by jury trial of access device fraud. Zilevu was previously charged via criminal complaint with access device fraud on October 2, 2019, and subsequently arrested by special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on October 3, 2019. He was indicted on charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft on November 26, 2019.

According to the court documents, Zilevu was employed as an Information Technology Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Zilevu owned several businesses, including MacroTele, LLC, which he claimed sold telephone calling cards that he created. Between January 2016 and March 2018, Zilevu knowingly and without authorization used the names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security Numbers of at least three victims to obtain fraudulent credit cards. Once Zilevu obtained the credit cards in the victims' names, he used them to make several thousands of dollars of purchases at retail stores and other companies.

An American Express (AmEx) application was submitted using a victim's personally identifiable information (PII) and approximately $49,000 was charged to the AmEx card. Among the purchases were an airline ticket for travel from Washington, D.C. to Miami, Florida, and a hotel reservation for Zilevu. Another credit card application was submitted to U.S. Bank and Trust using PII of a second victim. Bank statements revealed that a total of $10,273.39 in completed transactions and $2,651.62 in attempted transactions were made using this card, including an airline ticket for Zilevu from Dulles, Virginia to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Another credit card application was submitted to U.S. Bank and Trust using a third victim's PII. A total of $9,641.69 in fraudulent charges were made using this credit card.

A review of Zilevu's IRS e-mail account revealed that Zilevu received an e-mail message from PayPal congratulating the third victim for setting up his or her account and instructing the victim to click a link in order to confirm the accuracy of his or her e-mail address. Zilevu received a subsequent e-mail message from PayPal to his IRS e-mail account advising the third victim that he or she was officially a PayPal member. When interviewed, each of the victims confirmed that the fraudulent credit cards had been taken out in their names, and that Zilevu did not have permission or authority to use their information to apply for the cards.

On July 17, 2021, a jury found Zilevu guilty of one count of 18 U.S.C. 1029(a)(5) Access Device Fraud. Zilevu was placed on electronic monitoring until his sentencing on November 10, 2021. This investigation was worked jointly by special agents from TIGTA and the United States Postal Inspection Service. At sentencing, Zilevu could face up to 15 years' imprisonment and a fine.

    Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D. Va. Crim. Compl., filed Oct 2, 2019; E.D. Va. Docket, ending July 21, 2019; E.D. Va. Verdict Form, dated July 17, 2019; E.D. Va. Executed Arrest Warrant, filed Oct. 3, 2019; E.D. Va. Indict., filed Nov 26, 2019; E.D. Va. Sentence Document, dated July 17, 2021; TWR, dated December 11, 2019; and TWR, dated October 16, 2019.