Final Defendant Receives 12 Year Prison Sentence in $2 Million Conspiracy to Defraud the IRS
DENVER – Jaquon Mucsarney, age 37, of Aurora, Colorado was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Marcia S. Krieger to serve 144 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for conspiracy to defraud the United States and aggravated identity theft, announced the United States Attorney Bob Troyer, IRS – Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Steven Osborne and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Wilbert M. Craig. Mucsarney was also ordered to pay $327,970 in restitution to the IRS.
According to information contained in the indictment and plea agreement, between January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2016, Mucsarney devised a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by filing tax return with false information in order to obtain a fraudulent tax refund. At various times, Mucsarney received assistance from his mother, Schosche MucSarney and girlfriend Sherry Charleston.
As leader of this scheme, Mucsarney created approximately 50 fictitious businesses which only existed on “paper” and had little or no legitimate business activity. In order to file corporate tax returns for these businesses, Mucsarney logged into the U.S. Treasury website and obtained an Employment Identification Number (EIN) using either his or Schosche’s social security numbers. When Mucsarney became aware the IRS was investigating his activities, he started using individuals stolen names and social security numbers to obtain EINs for various companies.
Mucsarney typically filed U.S. Corporation Income Tax Returns (Forms 1120) on behalf of the shell companies which he completed with false information relating to income, deductions, overpayments, and refunds due. When Mucsarney was incarcerated on unrelated charges, he would either supply Schosche and Charleston with the false information to complete the fraudulent income tax returns or have Schosche send Mucsarney blank IRS form to complete. Mucsarney would then mail the completed tax returns to the IRS directly from his correctional facility.
Over the course of the scheme, Mucsarney, with the assistance of others, submitted approximately 100 fraudulent income tax returns to the IRS which claimed refunds totaling $2,168,277. Of the amount requested, the IRS ultimately paid out approximately $327,970.
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“Mucsarney stole identities and used fake business names to line his own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “Thanks to our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, for the next twelve years Mucsarney’s real identity will be known to the Bureau of Prisons.”
“Stealing identities and filing false tax returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers,” said Steven Osborne, Special Agent in Charge of the Denver Field Office of IRS – Criminal Investigation. “This 12-year sentence demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of law-abiding taxpayers to ensure that the only citizens who receive tax refunds are those who are entitled to them.”
“The SSA OIG promotes Social Security number (SSN) integrity by pursuing cases of SSN misuse and related government fraud,” said Wilbert Craig, Special Agent-in-Charge of the SSA OIG Denver Field Division. “We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case, which resulted in a 12-year prison sentence for the defendant at the center of an SSN misuse and tax fraud scheme, and we will continue to work with the IRS-Criminal Investigation to investigate similar cases.”
Schosche Mucsarney was sentenced on November 22, 2016 to five years probation and restitution of $195,902 to the Internal Revenue Service based on her guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the government. Sherry Charleston was sentenced on January 9, 2017 to eighteen months imprisonment, 3 years supervised release, and restitution of $16,541 for conspiracy to defraud the government.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff.
