Cobb duo sentenced for tax fraud scheme targeting disabled and elderly

A Cobb Couple couple has been sentenced to prison for running a $250,000 tax fraud scheme that preyed on the elderly and people with disabilities.

A federal judge gave 33-year-old Raphael Menard and 34-year-old Leshanda Hunte their sentences during a hearing Monday, court records show.

Prosecutors said in a news release that Menard was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison and Hunte got two years and six months.

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The Marietta duo opened a joint Chase bank account at a Dunwoody branch in August 2010, according to an indictment.

They focused on taking the identities of people who didn’t file income tax returns. Some returns were filed under the names of people who’d recently died, prosecutors said.

They deposited the money into the shared account and used it to “finance a lavish personal lifestyle, including travel and large retail purchases,” prosecutors said.

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The scheme dissolved after Chase employees noticed the suspicious deposits and froze the account. Hunte then went to the bank and demanded the release of the stolen money, prosecutors said, telling bank employees that she was a tax preparer and the refunds belonged to her clients.

On Halloween 2012, she brought a relative to the bank who presented fake identification in the name of one of Hunte’s victims, prosecutors said. The bank gave Hunte more than $8,500.

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Menard tried the same thing two days later but was arrested after bank employees spotted the fake ID. His arrest led to the seizure of the money and launched an IRS investigation that unraveled their scheme.

After they are released, Hunte faces three years of supervised released and Menard faces two.

They both pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of guilty of conspiracy and theft of government money, according to the news release. They must pay back more than $200,000 in restitution.

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