A Cobb County man has been charged in connection with a $5.5 million identity theft scheme, authorities said.
Bradford Thomas, 46, was arraigned Thursday on multiple charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of government funds after being indicted by a federal grand jury last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta said in a news release.
“This defendant is accused of attempting to defraud the U.S. Treasury out of millions of dollars by seeking 1,200 tax refunds in the names of unsuspecting taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said.
Authorities said the scam ran from January 2010 through May 2013, using the names and social security numbers of victims — including inmates — to file fraudulent tax returns claiming more than $5.5 million in refunds. The money was directed to be deposited into bank accounts controlled by Thomas or people working with him, according to officials.
“The scheme caused an actual loss of over $1.6 million in taxpayer money,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Federal agents searched two places from which they suspect electronic returns were submitted to the IRS — Thomas’ Acworth residence and an auto business in Kennesaw.
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