NYC man sentenced in income tax refund scheme
TRENTON, N.J.—Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say a New York City man has been sentenced to 34 months in prison for conspiring with others to fraudulently obtain and cash more than $1.2 million in federal and state income tax refund checks.
Forty-two-year-old Amaury Mercedes del Orbe of the Bronx also must serve three years of supervised release once he's freed. He'll also have to pay nearly $1.4 in restitution as part of the sentence imposed Tuesday.
Mercedes del Orbe had previously pleaded guilty to a complaint charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
He admitted being part of a conspiracy in which participants filed false returns using the personal information of others. They had the checks sent to addresses they controlled, then sought to cash them in New Jersey.
