A Rochester man has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for aggravated identity theft.
Norman Perry, 51, was also convicted of making a false claim to the United States, according to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. Perry will also have to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $135,743.
Perry posted advertisements in Rochester claiming that he could find lost or unclaimed funds. People contacted Perry with their name, address and social security number and agreed to pay the defendant a fee, generally in the amount of $300, for each $1,000 check they received, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Instead, Perry used the information to prepare and file false and fraudulent tax returns with the IRS, claiming that the individuals had qualified educational expenditures and were entitled to receive the American Opportunity Credit, a refundable tax credit for educational expenses.
None of the individuals were students and none had incurred any educational expenditures.
Perry also filed a false tax return with the IRS in another person’s name and had the check sent to an address in Rochester, according to Lee.
