Grand jury indicts 7 in $111 million fraud operation

A federal grand jury in Texas unsealed indictments on Monday against seven individuals for a years-long fraud scheme involving identity theft and tax refunds.

The group allegedly "engaged in a conspiracy to claim fraudulent tax refunds using the stolen identities of accountants and taxpayers by filing at least 371 false tax returns claiming over $111 million in refunds from the IRS," the Department of Justice announced.

The indictment names Abraham Yusuff, Meghan Inyang, Christopher Eduardo, Christian Mathurin, Dillon Anozie, Babajide Ogunbanjo, and Aydin Mammadov as alleged participants int the plot. All hail from Texas except for Mathurin, who is from Tennessee.

The conspirators allegedly registered with the IRS as agents of real taxpayers and directed the agency to change their addresses and redirect the tax filers' refunds to them.

Yusuff and his co-conspirators allegedly then laundered the money by purchasing money orders in amounts below reporting thresholds. They further reportedly spent funds on "designer clothing, home renovation materials and used cars."

The defendants face varying charges, among them wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.

The money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, if convicted.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.