SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Leticia A. Roque, 48, of Vallejo, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to submit false claims against the United States and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated, “Postal Inspectors worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partner in law enforcement on this investigation and will continue to protect the public and the U.S. Mail against all forms of misuse.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation has made investigating refund fraud and identity theft a top priority,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon, IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Filing fraudulent tax returns in the names of other individuals may result in significant harm to those individuals whose identities were stolen, as well as a monetary loss against the U.S. Treasury.”
According to court documents, between January 7, 2012, and May 19, 2012, Roque along with co-defendants Marcus A. Cooper, 29, and Tiana E. Naples, 28, also of Vallejo, submitted at least 60 fraudulent tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service. The returns were filed in other people’s names and contained false representations about those persons’ income, employer, tax credits, and tax withholding. The returns were filed without the permission or knowledge of the taxpayers. The 60 tax returns requested approximately $209,713 in tax refunds, of which approximately $102,521 was sent to the defendants in the form of prepaid debit cards.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew G. Morris is prosecuting the case.
Roque is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2016, by United States District Judge John A. Mendez. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false claim conviction and a mandatory consecutive two-year term for aggravated ID theft. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Cooper and Naples are scheduled to appear in court for a status conference on December 8, 2015. The charges against them are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.