Atlanta bank manager sentenced in tax fraud scheme

An Atlanta bank branch manager was sentenced to two years in federal prison Thursday for conspiring to steal federal tax return money, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Jacinto Padron Jr., 52, of Roswell also must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution of more than $275,000.

Padron was a Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) branch manager in Atlanta when, beginning in 2009, he took part in the tax return plot, authorities said. He opened bank accounts using different names and addresses given to him by co-conspirators.

Those names, authorities said, belonged to residents of Puerto Rico, including prisoners.

The co-conspirators filed bogus tax returns and had the refunds deposited into the fraudulent accounts or the checks cashed at Padron's bank branch, authorities said. When an account was targeted or frozen because of suspicious activity, Padron was able to override the bank's security measures, they said.

Officials said the scheme involved more than $200,000 in fraudulently obtained federal tax returns, and Padron was paid for his role in the plot.