Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Netherlands Man Sentenced
SOUTH BEND – The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Thomas L. Kirsch II, announced that Federico Avendano, age 53, of the Netherlands was sentenced before South Bend District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio for aggravated identity theft.
Avendano was sentenced to 48 months imprisonment and he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $605,468.81.
According to documents in this case, in April and September of 2011, Mr. Avendano used the taxpayer identification number of another person to commit wire fraud by filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. He obtained the individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) while working as a tax preparer in South Bend, then used those numbers to file returns without the taxpayers’ knowledge. The returns contained false information about the taxpayers’ employment and falsely claimed they were entitled to refunds that were to be deposited into bank accounts he controlled.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.
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