An Orange Park man could be facing a centuries-long prison sentence after a tax return scheme that federal agents said netted millions.
On Tuesday, authorities unsealed a 38-count indictment against Bryan A. Copeland that charges him with mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and false claims against the government.
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The 32-year-old car salesman could get a $9.5 million fine and 568 years in prison, according to federal statutes.
Authorities have said Copeland or co-conspirators stole the identities of hundreds of people to file the phony tax returns, getting many of the names from the databases of the state Department of Children and Families and Department of Juvenile Justice.
The indictment said he used bank accounts other people opened to deposit the funds, then spent the money on cars he sold at a Jacksonville used car lot. He was arrested Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O’Malley said after Copeland’s first court appearance later in the day that six others already pleaded guilty in the scheme. The government expects at least some of those defendants to testify against Copeland.
O’Malley told Magistrate Judge Joel Toomey the probe was a long-running investigation that involved an intensive paper chase and surveillance that led to a Secret Service agent pursuing Copeland’s vehicle in traffic as the defendant dumped evidence.
O’Malley said at least 1,300 fraudulent tax returns were part of the scheme, and $5 million it generated still is missing.
The probe started in 2008 after a postal worker reported a large number of Internal Revenue Service mailings going to one Blanding Boulevard address.
Toomey appointed a lawyer for Copeland and will consider whether to release him from custody at a detention hearing and arraignment Friday.
A few supporters of the defendant came to court, but his wife said they had no comment
