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August 27, 2021

Man Involved in Internal Revenue Service Impersonation Scheme Indicted for Wire Fraud

On June 23, 2021, in the Southern District of Florida, Matthew Shackell was indicted for wire fraud and also conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The object of the conspiracy was for Shackell and his coconspirators to unjustly enrich themselves by calling individuals and falsely telling them they owed money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Shackell and his coconspirators then directed these individuals to make payments, for these false IRS debts, to bank accounts controlled by Shackell.

According to the court documents, sometime in or about June or July 2017, the coconspirators, posing as IRS employees, contacted victims via phone and falsely stated there were arrest warrants for their arrest for unpaid Federal taxes. Victims were instructed to deposit money into two different bank accounts controlled by Shackell. For the purpose of executing this scheme to defraud victims by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, Shackell knowingly caused the transmittal of $31,300 through interstate commerce.

If convicted, Shackell could receive a maximum of twenty years' imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and potentially pay a fine of up to $250,000.

    Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available document: S.D. Fla., Indict., filed June 23, 2021.