Six Indicted in $1.2 Million Conspiracy

On August 15, the Justice Department and the IRS announced that a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned a superseding indictment charging Antoinette Djonret, Angelique Djonret, Tabitha Stinson, Melba Wilson, Chantresa Hayes, and Corey Means with conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities.

The forty-nine-count indictment charges Antoinette Djonret with filing false claims, theft of government funds, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of unauthorized access devices.
 
Angelique Djonret is also charged with filing false claims, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft. Corey Means and Chantresa Hayes are charged with theft of government funds.
 

If Convicted, Defendants Face

  • Maximum potential prison terms of ten years for the conspiracy to file false claims, 
  • Five years for each false claims count,
  • Ten years for each theft of government funds count,
  • Fifteen years for access device fraud count, 
  • Ten years for the possession of unauthorized access devices count, 
  • Mandatory two-year term for the aggravated identity theft counts, and
  • Fines and mandatory restitution.
 
Antoinette Djonret had earlier been charged with making false claims in a criminal complaint that was filed on February 22, 2012, and in an indictment that was filed on March 28, 2012. According to court documents, Antoinette Djonret obtained stolen identities from state of Alabama databases. Antoinette Djonret and her sister, Angelique Djonret, filed false tax returns using the stolen identities and directed the false tax returns to prepaid debit cards. Many of the tax returns were filed from Antoinette Djonret's residence.
 
The superseding indictment further alleges that each of the six defendants recruited individuals to purchase prepaid debit cards and to provide the cards to the defendants. They then had the tax refunds deposited onto the cards. In total, the defendants filed over 800 false tax returns and requested over $1.2 million in tax refunds.
 
Source: US Department of Justice
 

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