Identity Thief Thursday: Kenyan Tax Fraud & Identity Theft Ring Starts to Crack

April 17, 2008

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Given that it tax time, and I’ve written recently about how tax time increases identity theft threat and the dangers of tax fraud, I thought it would be timely to have some tax fraudsters for ID Thief Thursday.

Last summer, 13 Kenyan nationals and 4 Americans were indicted as part of a $13.1 million (!) tax fraud and identity theft ring in Kansas City.

This week two of the accused, Vincent Ogega and Rashira Lewis, plead guilty to the crimes.

Nursing Home Racket

The ring would take the identities of seniors in the nursing homes where they worked and then filed fake tax refund claims.

Apparently already $2 million of claims had already been paid out, while the rest of the scam was caught before the check was cut.

The money was either wired back to Kenya or routed through Kansas City businesses and banks.

Local Business Involved

Rashira Lewis, 20, created a company called Montina Share Vacations which had as its sole purpose receiving fake tax returns and cashing the checks.

Plea Bargain

Vincent Ogega, 23, faced one of the highest penalties: reportedly up to 65 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

As part of the plea deal, they now face up to 20 years and up to $250,000 in fines, but sentencing has not happened yet.

The other members of the ring have not been indicted yet so we will see what happens.

Go Visit Grannie

If you have or know people in these nursing homes, it’s important to recognize how vulnerable they may be to unscrupulous employees. Make sure to stay involved in their lives and their finances (and visit them once in a while, will you??).

Source: Kansas City Business Journal and AllAfrica.com

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