Prosecutors: Eastern Pa. man stole $1.6M in fraudulent tax returns
SCRANTON (AP) – Federal prosecutors say an eastern Pennsylvania man used stolen identities to fraudulently deposit $1.6 million in tax refund checks into an account he owned.
Prosecutors on Tuesday said Diego Rojas was indicted last month in Scranton and faces up to 20 years in prison if he’s convicted.
The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that Rojas pleaded not guilty on Monday. A message left with his attorney wasn’t returned.
The 42-year-old Dunmore man is accused of depositing more than 350 U.S. treasury checks between January and November 2013. Prosecutors say at least 250 of those were stolen identity refund fraud checks.
Rojas ran Dunmore Cash Checking, a cash checking, tax preparation and money transfer business. An indictment states that Rojas used personal information to file false income tax returns.