A n Old Bridge resident was one of two New Jersey men sentenced to federal prison on July 25 for conspiring to file thousands of false and fraudulent federal income tax returns that caused the IRS to issue over $3 million in refund checks, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Johnson Coker, 45, of Old Bridge, and Adebowale Sheba, 40, of Somerset, were sentenced to 70 and 72 months in prison, respectively. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Wolfson imposed the sentences in Trenton federal court.
Authorities said that beginning in January 2005, Coker, Sheba and their co-conspirators purchased the personal identifying information of hundreds of identity theft victims — including their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The suspects and their co-conspirators then used the personal information of the victims to create and file materially false and fraudulent individual income tax returns with the IRS in the victims’ names, according to Fishman’s office. The objective was to cause unearned income tax refund checks to be issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Coker, Sheba and their co-conspirators used their home addresses or addresses they controlled on the tax returns so they could receive the checks. In total, they used approximately 41 separate addresses for this purpose, authorities said. They would then deposit the checks into approximately 24 separate bank accounts, and made cash withdrawals from the accounts or directed monies from those accounts to others they controlled.
From January 2005 through October 2009, the conspirators filed thousands of returns that, combined, sought nearly $11.5 million in refund checks, approximately $3.2 million of which the IRS actually released, according to Fishman’s office.
In addition to the prison terms, Wolfson sentenced Coker and Sheba each to serve three years of supervised release. Coker was ordered to pay $976,030 in restitution; Sheba was ordered to pay $609,521.
Fishman credited inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett; and special agents of IRS — Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Victor W. Lessoff; and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Ryan, for the investigation leading to the sentences.