A 33-year-old used car salesman from Orange Park and several cohorts were sentenced in federal court this week including millions in restitution for fraud.
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. sentenced Bryan A. Copeland to 22 years in federal prison for wire fraud, making false statements against the United States and aggravated identity theft. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said he also must pay about $3.5 million in restitution to the IRS. Copeland pleaded guilty in February.
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He was part of a scheme that involved stealing the identities of hundreds of people from state databases to file phony tax returns.
Dalton sentenced four others for their roles in the scheme — Veronica Olivia Brown, Devron Tracy Tobey, Prientice Cordaemack Hooks and Beatrice Latangela Alphonse.
Brown, 31 of Jacksonville, was sentenced to 30 months and ordered to pay about $768,000 in restitution. Brown allowed Copeland to use her various addresses to file fraudulent returns and receive refund checks, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Tobey and Hooks, both 26 of Jacksonville, opened bank accounts to receive some of the proceeds from the scheme. Hooks and Tobey got 12 months each and about $314,000 and $548,000 in restitution, respectively.
Alphonse, 29 of Miami, helped in obtaining the identity information used to generate the fraudulent returns. She was sentenced to five years and three months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
