Atlanta man convicted of laundering over $12 million in stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme

ATLANTA – A federal jury has discovered Thomas Addaquay responsible of 29 counts of fraud-related offenses in a stolen identification tax refund fraud scheme, together with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, cash laundering conspiracy, and cash laundering.

“Addaquay and his co-defendants used the non-public info of taxpayers to complement themselves,” stated U.S. Lawyer Ryan Ok. Buchanan.  “A lot of Addaquay’s victims testified in courtroom that they have been unaware that their identities had been stolen till they filed tax returns.  Theft of tax {dollars} impacts everybody, and this workplace will deliver to justice anybody who seeks to disrupt and benefit from our tax system on the expense of harmless taxpayers.”

Based on U.S. Lawyer Buchanan, the fees and different info offered in courtroom: From at the least 2011 to at the least 2016, Thomas Addaquay fraudulently obtained the names, social safety numbers, and dates of beginning of taxpayers to organize and file false federal earnings tax returns. The submitting of those fraudulent tax returns resulted within the issuance of hundreds of tax refund checks. 

Addaquay, to money these tax refund checks issued within the names of the victims whose identities he stole, represented to a third-party cost processor that he had acquired the tax refund checks from prospects who used the companies of his examine cashing enterprise, United Consolidated Accounting and Enterprise Providers, Inc.  Counting on Addaquay’s misrepresentations, the third-party cost processor processed the tax refund checks and wired greater than $12 million into enterprise financial institution accounts managed by Addaquay.

Sentencing for Thomas Addaquay, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled for January 31, 2023, earlier than U.S. District Choose Leigh Martin Might.  Addaquay’s co-defendants beforehand pleaded responsible and also will be sentenced by Choose Might:

• Sacoya Lyons pleaded responsible to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentencing is about for January 5, 2023; and

• Nana Addaquay, Thomas Addaquay’s brother, pleaded responsible to 1 rely of cash laundering conspiracy. Sentencing is about for January 17, 2023.

Inner Income Service Legal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sekret T. Sneed and Angela Adams are prosecuting the case.  Former Assistant U.S. Lawyer Jeff Brown was the preliminary prosecutor on the case.

For additional info please contact the U.S. Lawyer’s Public Affairs Workplace at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Web deal with for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.