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August 26, 2019

Jury Finds Man Guilty on All Eight Counts of Indictment in Scheme to Defraud the Internal Revenue Service

On June 28, 2019, in the Western District of New York, a jury found Emmanuel Guobadia guilty on four counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme he devised to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Guobadia had previously been indicted for the offenses in April 2016.

According to court documents, between about May 2012 and July 2012, Guobadia electronically filed fraudulent Federal income tax returns using the names and Social Security Numbers of others and claimed tax refunds to which he was not entitled. As part of the scheme, 628 fraudulent tax returns claiming a total of $1,252,524 in fraudulent tax refunds were filed with the IRS for Tax Year 2011. Of those attempted refund claims, the IRS electronically deposited $178,658 in tax refunds into bank accounts owned by a third-party individual known to the court, as directed on the returns.

On four occasions, Guobadia also directed the third-party individual, who was located in New York, to wire transfer fraudulently obtained funds into his bank account located in the State of Georgia.

In October 2013, Guobadia was arrested, and several laptop computers were seized. Search warrants obtained for the contents of the computers resulted in the identification of approximately 2,000 unique names with associated personal identification information, bank account information, and electronic return originator (ERO) passwords. When a tax return is filed online through an ERO, the return preparer must provide a unique password for that return.

Guobadia faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for the charge of wire fraud. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of two years’ imprisonment for the charges of aggravated identity theft, to run consecutively with the sentence imposed for the wire fraud violations. Sentencing is scheduled for October 2, 2019.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: W.D.N.Y. Crim. Compl. filed Nov. 20, 2015; W.D.N.Y. Indict. filed Apr. 28, 2016; W.D.N.Y. DOJ Press Release dated May 2, 2016; W.D.N.Y. Verdict Sheet filed July 1, 2019; and W.D.N.Y. Crim. Docket as of July 11, 2019.