An indictment was unsealed today in the Northern District of Georgia charging two brothers and a third man with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all arising out of a $74 million scheme to defraud the IRS through the filing of fraudulent tax returns.
The following is according to the indictment: from 2019 to the present, Gustavo Rojano Salazar, Gabriel Rojano Salazar and Andres Huerta Rendon, who all resided in the Atlanta area and were Mexican citizens, obtained Mexican identification documents in the names of third parties. They used these identification documents to obtain Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) with the IRS. An ITIN was a number issued by the IRS to an individual who was required to file a federal tax return, but who did not have or was not eligible to receive a Social Security number. The three co-conspirators directed the IRS to mail the ITIN letters to post office boxes they controlled. In total, the co-conspirators obtained a significant number of Mexican Identification cards and ITIN letters, as depicted in the photo below:
Mexican Identification cards and ITIN letters
After receiving the ITIN information, the co-conspirators prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns in the names of the Mexican ITIN holders that included fabricated Forms W-2 reporting certain income and withholdings. Each of these returns resulted in refunds, which the co-conspirators directed to be mailed to the post office boxes they controlled. The co-conspirators then collected the resulting U.S. Treasury refund checks issued in the names of the Mexican ITIN holders and cashed them using a check cashing company. In total, the three co-conspirators and others cashed more than 16,000 U.S. Treasury tax refund checks worth over $74 million. Below is a photograph of cash from a photograph taken by one of the defendants:
Image of cash from a photograph taken by one of the defendants
Gustavo Rojano Salazar and Gabriel Rojano Salazar are also charged with knowingly making false statements on immigration forms submitted under penalties of perjury.
All three defendants face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Gustavo Rojano Salazar and Gabriel Rojano Salazar also face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for each count of making false statements on immigration forms.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and United States Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg of the Northern District of Georgia made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Michael C. Boteler of the Fraud Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors of the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.