A Riviera Beach man has been found guilty of filing $6.1 million worth of phony tax returns, often under the names of convicted criminals.
Corey Pearson, 28, now faces eight counts of aggravated identity theft, four counts of money laundering and 16 counts of wire fraud.
Prosecutors claim Pearson and two accomplices filed 1,600 tax returns, most of them fraudulent between 2012 to 2014. While the returns sought $6.1 million in refunds, the government paid out $1.3 million.
The three allegedly filed returns using stolen identities, including those of inmates serving long sentences. Pearson and the two female accomplices asked the IRS to deposit the refunds in their bank accounts or on debit cards they controlled.
Person's co-defendants – 27-year-old Stephane Cindy Anor, of West Palm Beach, and 51-year-old Irene Wilson of Riviera Beach – have already pleaded guilty to charges in connection with their roles in the far-flung operation.
Pearson will be sentenced on Dec. 18. He faces dozens of years in prison.