Hundreds of identities were stolen. More than $600,000 in tax refunds were fraudulently claimed. Now an Atlanta husband and wife have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said today.
Justin Cody, 33, was given seven years and three months behind bars. His 25-year-old wife, Aeshia Wilmore, was sentenced to two years.
“Stealing identities of innocent people has become all too common,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in the news release. “The sentence these two received makes it clear that we are committed to exposing and bringing to justice anyone who engages in this conduct.”
Authorities said Cody and Wilmore participated in a tax scam from as early as February 2013 to May 2013 in which stolen identities were used to file hundreds of income tax returns, leading to claims of more than $600,000 in refunds from the Department of the Treasury.
Cody used stolen personal information and bogus wage and withholding information to fill out the tax returns, according to prosecutors. He then had the refunds applied to prepaid debit cards that he and his wife used at ATMs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The couple was indicted in June. In November, they each pleaded guilty to theft of public funds. Cody also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity fraud.
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