Two individuals from New Jersey and Arizona have been charged for their involvement in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the IRS, as well as for aggravated identity theft.
Omar Khater, 32, of Fairfield, New Jersey and Walid Khater, 37, of Mesa, Arizona were accused of stealing the identities of victims and using them to file false tax returns and fraudulently receive tax refunds from the IRS.
The fraudulent filings claimed that the individuals listed on the documents had earned certain income or won large amounts of money in gambling and lottery winnings. The false filings also claimed tax withholdings on the supposed income or winnings, which entitled the tax filers to refund payments from the IRS.
The Khaters and others typically submitted these fraudulent tax filings using the names and personal identifying information of victims without their knowledge or permission. The fraudulent filings caused the IRS to pay $4.49 million in tax refunds, which the Khaters and others directed to various bank accounts they controlled.
The wire fraud conspiracy count is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, the count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison, and each count of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.