A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday in Augusta charged 12 Georgia residents –including Matthew Harrington, 45, of Savannah - for their alleged roles in a fraudulent income tax refund ring.
According to the indictment, the defendants conspired from 2009 to 20011 to file at least 90 phony income tax returns on behalf of individuals whose identities had been stolen. The income tax returns fraudulently sought refunds from the IRS totaling more than $500,000.
The indictment follows a 14-month joint investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Edward Tarver said, “These defendants are alleged to have systematically stolen the identities of others, all in an effort to steal from the United States taxpayers.
The United States Attorney’s Office will hold identity thieves and fraudsters accountable, and will make sure that the only identity they’ll be able to use will be the one stitched on their prison jumpsuit.”