On September 9, 2020, in the District of Nevada, Maria Mendoza, a tax preparation business owner, was arrested for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Mendoza was initially indicted for the offenses on August 19, 2020.

According to the court documents, between approximately August 25, 2015 continuing through December 15, 2015, Mendoza devised a scheme to obtain a tax refund by submitting fraudulent tax information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Specifically, Mendoza falsely claimed three dependents who were not actually her dependents, but rather dependents of clients from her tax preparation business. Without lawful authority, Mendoza used the Social Security Numbers of her clients' dependents and submitted that information to the IRS to obtain a refund. Mendoza executed the scheme by transmitting her tax return to the IRS via wire communication.

Mendoza faces a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment for wire fraud, and up to two years' imprisonment for aggravated identity theft, if convicted.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D. Nev., Arrest Warrant, filed September 14, 2020, and D. Nev., Indict., filed August 19, 2020.